Environmental governance is not just a matter of laying down clear rules and regulations and then finding ways to enforce them. Developing the idea of “post-agreement bargaining” and drawing on his exceptional knowledge of the world-class fisheries of the Barents Sea, Geir Hønneland illuminates the ongoing processes of interpretation, mutual accommodation, and adjustment to changing circumstances that play an essential role in making environmental regimes work.

Why do people obey the law? And why do states abide by their international commitments? These are among the questions raised in this important book. The setting is the Barents Sea, home to some of the most productive fishing grounds on the planet, including the world’s largest cod stock. Norway and Russia manage these fish resources together, in what appears to be a successful exception to the rule of failed fisheries management: stocks are in good shape, institutional cooperation is expanding and takes place in a constructive atmosphere. The author argues that post-agreement bargaining helps activate norms and establish standard operating procedure that furthers precautionary fisheries management.

The Barents Sea fishery is seen as one of the best-managed international fisheries in the world, and the book specifically enquires into the lessons to be learnt from the Norwegian–Russian partnership. It will therefore prove to be of invaluable interest to practitioners, scholars and policy-makers working in the field of fisheries management and environmental agreements.