Incentive-based approaches to sustainable fisheries: WORKING PAPER

Researchers: Arnason, Ragnar (Author) ,  Bjørndal, Trond (Author) ,  Campbell, David (Author) ,  Campbell, Harry F. (Author) ,  Clark, Colin W. (Author)
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Brief description This record describes, and links to a working paper published through the Economics and Environment Network at The Australian National University in Canberra. ***** 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.

Notes Purpose
To outline what can be done to mitigate the factors that contribute to unsustainability in commercial and industrial fisheries. Our focus is upon inappropriate fisher incentives and ineffective governance.