Incentive-Based Approaches to Sustainable Fisheries
January 17, 2006 - Grafton, R. Quentin; Arnason, Ragnar; Bjorndal, Trond; Campbell, David; Campbell, Harry F.; Clark, Collin W.; Connor, Robin; Dupont, Diane P.; Hannesson, Rognvaldur; Hilborn, Ray; Kirkley, James E.; Kompas, Tom; Lane, Daniel E.; Munro, Gordon R,; Pascoe,
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EmailJournal or Book Title: Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
Keywords: incentives; sustainability; rights; fisheries management
Volume/Issue: 63/3
Page Number(s): 699-710
Year Published: 2006
The failures of traditional target-species management have led many to propose an ecosystem approach to fisheries to promote sustainability. The ecosystem approach is necessary, especially to account for fishery-ecosystem interactions, but by itself is not sufficient to address two important factors contributing to unsustainable fisheries — inappropriate incentives bearing on fishers, and the ineffective governance that frequently exists in commercial, developed fisheries managed primarily by total harvest limits and input-controls. We contend that much greater emphasis must be placed on fisher motivation when managing fisheries. Using evidence from more than a dozen ‘natural experiments’ in commercial fisheries, we argue that incentive-based approaches that better specify community, individual harvest, or territorial rights and also price ecosystem services — coupled with public research, monitoring and effective oversight — promote sustainable fisheries.
URL: Incentive-Based Approaches to Sustainable Fisheries
DOI: 10.1139/F05-247
Type of Publication: Journal Article
Publisher: NRC Research Press
