Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

An Overview of Fishing Rights

  • Special Segment: Rights Based Fisheries
  • Published:
Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Coastal state management of marine harvests within 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zones was a new and innovative process during the period from the late 1970s through the 1980s. The spread of conservation-focused harvest management was a key step in the evolution of fishing rights, followed in some nations by a second step of creating more exclusive, individual or group fishing rights. The three main forms of more exclusive fishing rights – limited entry permits, individual fishing quotas (IFQs), and local community-based or co-operative harvesting – vary widely in content and detail. But, when successful, they all increase the economic efficiency of fisheries, and they reshape the economic and political landscape of fisheries. All three types, but particularly IFQs, may initiate radical changes in the economic organization of the fishery, ultimately changing who fishes, where and when they fish, the products sold, the balance of power among industry sectors, incentives to support conservation, the size of incomes from fishing, and the location of shore-side economic activity. Changes of this sort are bound to provoke controversy. The controversies over fishing rights take three forms: disagreements over the meaning and intent of fishing rights, disputes over the distribution of rights and associated economic gain, and concern for disruptions imposed on people who are dependent on the “old order”. This paper provides a short review of the underlying concepts, rights systems, and current controversies concerning fishing rights.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • J.L. Anderson (1997) The growth of salmon aquaculture and the emerging new world order of the salmon industry E.K. Pikitch D.D. Huppert M.P. Sissenwine (Eds) Global Trends: Fisheries Management Bethesda MD 175–184

    Google Scholar 

  • E. Anferova M. Vetemaa R. Hannesson (2004) ArticleTitleFish quota auctions in the Russian Far East: A failed experiment Mar. Policy 29 IssueID1 47–56

    Google Scholar 

  • Arnason, R. (2005) Property Rights in Fisheries: Iceland’s Experience with ITQs. Rev. Fish Biol. Fisheries. This issue.

  • S. Aswani (2005) ArticleTitleCustomary sea tenure in Oceania as a case of rights-based fishery management: Does it work? Rev. Fish Biol. Fisheries 15 263–285

    Google Scholar 

  • Bromley, D.W. (2002) Rights-based fishing: The wrong concept and the wrong solution for the wrong problem. In: Managing Marine Fisheries in the United States: Proceedings of the Pew Oceans Commission Workshop on Marine Fishery Management. Pew Oceans Commission, Arlington, VA.

  • D.W. Bromley (2005) ArticleTitlePurging the frontier from our mind: Crafting a new fisheries policy Rev. Fish Biol. Fisheries 15 193–207

    Google Scholar 

  • K.E. Casey C.M. Dewees B.R. Turris J.E. Wilen (1995) ArticleTitleThe effects of individual vessel quotas in the British Columbia halibut fishery Mar. Resou. Econ. 10 IssueID3 211–230

    Google Scholar 

  • Christy, F.T. (1973) Fisherman Quotas: A Tentative Suggestion for Domestic Management. Occasional Paper #19. Law of the Sea Institute, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI.

  • Christy, F.T. (1982) Territorial Use Rights in Marine Fisheries: Definitions and Conditions. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper No. 227. Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. Rome, Italy.

  • D.H. Cole P.Z. Grossman (2002) ArticleTitleThe meaning of property rights: Law versus economics? Land Econ. 78 IssueID3 317–330

    Google Scholar 

  • P. Copes (1986) ArticleTitleA critical review of the individual quota as␣a device in fisheries management Land Econ. 62 IssueID3 278–291

    Google Scholar 

  • K.R. Criddle S. Macinko (2000) ArticleTitleA requiem for the IFQ in US fisheries? Mar. Policy 24 461–469

    Google Scholar 

  • J.A. Crutchfield (1955) ArticleTitleCollective bargaining in the Pacific Coast fisheries: The economic issues Indust. Labor Relat. 8 IssueID4 541–56

    Google Scholar 

  • J.A. Crutchfield (1979) ArticleTitleEconomic and social implications of the main policy alternatives for controlling fishing effort J. Fisheries Res. Board Can. 36 742–752

    Google Scholar 

  • J.A. Crutchfield A. Zellner (1962) ArticleTitleEconomic aspects of the Pacific halibut fishery Fishery Indust. Res. 1 IssueID1 1–117

    Google Scholar 

  • O. Defeo J.C. Castilla (2005) ArticleTitleMore than one bag for the world fishery crisis and keys for co-management successes in selected artisanal Latin American shellfisheries Rev. Fish Biol. Fisheries 15 243–261

    Google Scholar 

  • D. Dupont Q. Grafton (2000) ArticleTitleMulti-species individual transferable quotas: The Scotia-Fundy mobile gear groundfishery Mar. Resou. Econ. 15 IssueID3 205–220

    Google Scholar 

  • M. Exel B. Kaufmann (1997) Allocation of fishing rights: Implementation issues in Australia Pikitch (Eds) et al. Global Trends: Fisheries Management Bethesda MD 246–255

    Google Scholar 

  • H.S. Gordon (1954) ArticleTitleThe economic theory of a common property resource: The fishery J. Political Econ. 62 124–142 Occurrence Handle10.1086/257497

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R.Q. Grafton D. Squires K. Fox (2000) ArticleTitlePrivate property and economic efficiency: A study of a common-pool resource J. Law Econ. XLIII IssueIDOctober 679–713

    Google Scholar 

  • R. Hannesson (2004) The Privatization of the Oceans The MIT Press Cambridge, MA

    Google Scholar 

  • G. Hardin (1968) ArticleTitleThe tragedy of the commons Science 162 1243–1248 Occurrence Handle1:STN:280:CCaD3sfosFc%3D

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Higgins, K. (1999) The Pacific Whiting Conservation Cooperative: As Good as IFQs? Master’s Thesis. School of Marine Affairs, University of Washington, Seattle.

  • Huppert, D. (2004) Partial Auctions of IFQs: A Means to Share the “Rent”. Proceedings of the Conference in Honor of Gordon Munro, University of British Columbia, July, 2004.

  • D. Huppert G. Knapp (2001) Technology and Property Rights in Fisheries Management T.L. Anderson P.J. Hill (Eds) The Technology of Property Rights Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. Lanham, MD

    Google Scholar 

  • D. Huppert G.M. Ellis B. Noble (1996) ArticleTitleDo Permit Prices Reflect the Discounted Value of Fishing? Evidence from Alaska’s Commercial Salmon Fisheries Can. J. Fisheries Aquat. Sci. 43 IssueID4 761–768

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoag, S., Peltonen, G.J. and Sadorus, L.L. (1993) Regulations of the Pacific Halibut Fishery, 1977–1992. International North Pacific Halibut Commission, Technical Report No. 27. Seattle, WA.

  • R.N. Johnson G.D. Libecap (1982) ArticleTitleContracting problems and regulation: The case of the fishery Am. Econ. Rev. 72 1005–1022

    Google Scholar 

  • A. Kitts S. Edwards (2003) ArticleTitleCooperatives in US fisheries: Realizing the potential of the fishermen’s collective marketing act Mar. Policy 27 357–366

    Google Scholar 

  • D. Leal (2002) Fencing the Fishery: A Primer on Ending the Race for Fish PERC The Center for Free Market Environmentalism. Bozeman MT

    Google Scholar 

  • Marine Fish Conservation Network (2004) Individual Fishing Quotas: Environmental, Public Trust, and Socioeconomic Impacts. Washington, DC (http://www.conservefish.org).

  • Macinko, S. and Hennessey, T. (2002) Fishery management tools: Questions and some partial answers/thoughts. In: Managing Marine Fisheries in the United States: Proceedings of the Pew Oceans Commission Workshop on marine Fishery Management. Pew Oceans Commission, Arlington, VA.

  • S.C. Matulich R.C. Mittelhammer C. Reberte (1996) ArticleTitleTowards a more complete model of individual transferable fishing quotas: Implications of incorporating the processing sector J. Environ. Econ. Manage. 31 112–128 Occurrence Handle10.1006/jeem.1996.0035

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • B.J. McCay (1980) ArticleTitleA fishermen’s cooperative, limited: Indigenous resource management in a complex society Anthropol. Quart. 53 29–38

    Google Scholar 

  • D.G. Moloney P.H. Pearse (1979) ArticleTitleQuantitative rights as an instrument for regulating commercial fisheries J. Fisheries Res. Board Can. 36 859–866

    Google Scholar 

  • InstitutionalAuthorNameNational Marine Fisheries Service (1994) The IFQ Program: Insights and Updates Alaska Regional Office, Restricted Access Management Division. Juneau AK

    Google Scholar 

  • National Marine Fisheries Service (2002) Annual Report IFQ Fee (Cost Recovery) Program: Pacific Halibut and Sablefish Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Program. Alaska Region, NMFS, Restricted Access Management Program. Juneau, AK.

  • InstitutionalAuthorNameNational Research Council (1999a) The Community Development Quota Program in Alaska National Academy Press Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • InstitutionalAuthorNameNational Research Council (1999b) Sharing the Fish: Toward a National Policy on Individual Fishing Quotas National Academy Press Washington. DC

    Google Scholar 

  • P.A. Neher R. Arnason N. Mollett (Eds) (1989) Rights Based Fishing Kluwer Academic Publishing Dordrecht, Netherlands

    Google Scholar 

  • E. Ostrom (1990) Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action Cambridge University Press Cambridge, UK

    Google Scholar 

  • K. Ruddle (1989) The organization of traditional inshore fishery management systems in the Pacific P.A. Neher R. Arnason N. Mollett (Eds) Rights Based Fishing Kluwer Academic Publishing Dordrecht, Netherlands 73–85

    Google Scholar 

  • K. Ruddle T. Akimichi (1984) Sea tenure in Japan and the southwestern Ryukyus J.C. Cordell (Eds) A Sea of Small Boats: Customary Law and Territoriality in the World of Inshore Fishing Stanford University Press Stanford, CA

    Google Scholar 

  • Runolfsson, B. and Arnason, R. (2001) Initial Allocation of IQs in the Icelandic Fisheries. In Shotton, R. (ed). Case Studies on the Allocation of Transferable Quota Rights in Fisheries. Fisheries Technical Paper 411. Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. Rome, pp. 24–31.

  • A. Scott (1955) ArticleTitleThe fishery: The objectives of sole ownership J. Political Econ. 63 116–124 Occurrence Handle10.1086/257653

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • A. Scott (1989) Conceptual origins of rights based fishing P.A. Neher R. Arnason N. Mollett (Eds) Rights Based Fishing Kluwer Academic Publishers Dordrecht, Netherlands 73–85

    Google Scholar 

  • A. Scott (1993) ArticleTitleObstacles to fishery self-government Marine Resource Economics 8 187–199

    Google Scholar 

  • Shotton R. (ed.) (2000) Use of property rights in fisheries management. Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. Fisheries Technical Paper 404/1. Rome, Italy.

  • Shotton, R. (ed.) (2001) Case Studies on the allocation of transferable quota rights in fisheries. Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. Fisheries Technical Paper 411. Rome, Italy.

  • Sullivan, J.M. (2002) Harvesting cooperatives and US antitrust law: Recent developments and implications. Presented at the International Institute of Fisheries Economics 2000 Conference, Microbehavior-Macroresults, Corvallis, OR, July 10–15 Online: http://www.osu.orst.edu/dept/IIFET/2000/papers/sullivan. pdf.

  • J. Torres-Peña (1997) ArticleTitlePolitical economy of fishing regulation: The case of Chile Mar. Resou. Econ. 12 IssueID4 253–280

    Google Scholar 

  • M. Vetemaa M. Eero R. Hannesson (2002) ArticleTitleThe Estonian fisheries: From the Soviet system to ITQs and quota auctions Mar. Policy 26 95–102

    Google Scholar 

  • Waknitz, F.W., Tynan, T.J., Nash, C.E., Iwamoto, R.N., and Rutter, L.G. (2002) Review of Potential Impacts of Atlantic Salmon Culture on Puget Sound Chinook Salmon and Hood Canal Summer-Run Chum Salmon Evolutionarily Significant Units. U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA Tech. Memo., NMFS-NWFSC-53, 83 pp.

  • InstitutionalAuthorNameWashington Department of Natural Resources (2004) DNR Annual Report 2003 Olympia Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • J. Wilen (1985) ArticleTitleTowards a theory of the regulated fishery Mar. Resou. Econ. 1 369–388

    Google Scholar 

  • J. Wilen F. Homans (1997) Unraveling rent losses in modern fisheries: Production, market, or regulatory inefficiencies? E.K. Pikitch D.D. Huppert M.P. Sissenwine (Eds) Global Trends: Fisheries Management Bethesda MD 256–263

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Marine Affairs, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195-6715, USA

    Daniel D. Huppert

Authors
  1. Daniel D. Huppert
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Daniel D. Huppert.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Huppert, D.D. An Overview of Fishing Rights. Rev Fish Biol Fisheries 15, 201–215 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11160-005-4869-9

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11160-005-4869-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation