Shellfishing, eider ducks and nature conservation on the Wash: questions raised by a fractured partnership

This article examines the state of current approaches to the governance of common pool resources (CPRs), the impacts of the recent emergence of the partnership paradigm and the consequences for the management of CPRs. These issues are explored through a case study of the Wash European Marine Site partnership, where a Public Inquiry recently upheld the refusal of the conservation agency to grant mussel cultivators permission to scare eider ducks off their lays using sonic bird-scaring devices. As a result, the relationship between the conservation agency and the mussel cultivators has been severely damaged causing a ‘fracturing’ of the partnership. Through this case study the paper explores the contradictions involved in statutory partnerships and asks if it is possible to use partnerships to empower local communities while the state remains in overall control.