Fishery Management Case Study

Fishery Management: RBM and Fishery Subsidy

Over fishing around the globe has lead to a dire need in effective fishery management as it has led to fisheries depleting worldwide. Seafood is one of the more popular delicacies around the world and is also the source of income for millions of fishers globally. Lack of and poor fishery management has led to an exhaust of the fish stock in the ocean, which in turn has had a negative impact on biodiversity. Poor management has also been a factor economically as it leads to a loss of about $50 billion annually for fisheries around the world. If proper steps are taken the problem can be managed, Fishery Solutions Center believes that if management is improved then abundance of fish can increase by

Within both quota and area-based programs there are six effective management systems: Individual Quota (IQ), Individual Transferable Quota (ITQ), Individual Vessel Quota (IVQ), Cooperative, Community Fishing Quota (CFQ), and TURF (EDF, 2015b). IQ, and ITQ are based on individual fishermen or entities and allocate a share to them of the total allowable catch (EDF, 2015d). ITQs were first proposed by Christy (1973) (Frank Asche and Martin D. Smith, 2010, p. 17): ITQ and IQ are very popular types of RBM and account for more than 80% of RBM program used throughout the world as they increase individual accountability and promote flexibility, efficiency, and profitability (EDF, 2015d).

RBM overall becoming a more common form of fishery management as it directly relates to improving the biodiversity and conservation of fish in the water. There are both reviews and studies conducted on fisheries that employ RBM to see the positive impact it has had. A review, Fish and Fisheries, concluded that the fisheries that have adopted rights-based management have a lower case of fish overexploitation. It has also led to improving fishing business, livelihoods and fishing communities. (EDF,

However, as exploitation of the water increases limited or closed access is implemented and if exploitation still continues then this can lead to a closure of the water to fishing (EDF, 2015b). To avoid such exploitation RBM has become a popular choice worldwide to prevent exploitation. Governments and communities both see it as an effective tool to benefit the environment while keeping in mind fishermen’s economic interest. In most cases government is involved in RBM therefore RBM can be termed as a form of subsidy. If we were to recall the definition of fishery subsidy set forth by FAO it states “Fisheries subsidies are government actions or inactions that are specific to the fisheries industry and that modifies - by increasing or decreasing - the potential profits by the industry in the short-, medium- or long-term. (FAO, 2002).” Hence, we can note that RBM is a step taken by government to modify fisheries and therefore it can be termed as a form of