Input legitimacy of bottom-up fishery governance: Lessons from community-led local development in two Nordic EU countries

In European Union member states, the community-led local development (CLLD) approach implemented through Fisheries Local Action Groups (FLAGs) represents different social organisational and democratic traditions. Hence, FLAGs operate and apply local development strategies and strengthen the role of fishing communities and the fishing industry under the influence of nationally contingent factors. Based on document analysis and mixed methods data, this article addresses the role of input legitimacy in FLAGs in Denmark and Finland. The findings show that Danish FLAGs demonstrate input legitimacy, while the fishery sector's interests are relatively weakly represented on FLAG boards. In Finland, the FLAG institutional system is perceived to be more flexible, demonstrating a lower level of input legitimacy, while the fishery sector's interests are substantially represented on FLAG boards. The comparison provides an analytical basis for member states financing CLLD through EMFAF and paves the way for reflexion on the FLAG governance system based on different programming periods and institutional contexts.