Fisheries for the Future

“The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) now finds that 80 percent of the world’s fisheries are overexploited, fully exploited, significantly depleted or recovering from overexploitation.” Why is overfishing a problem and where can we find a solution?

Most fisheries operate on an annual quota of what can be caught. The only other restrictions are the length of the season and/or the type of nets that can be used. This provides an incentive for fishermen to work harder and travel farther, which can lead to overfishing. One proposed solution to this problem is the proper use of Individual Transferable Quotas (ITQs). ITQs privatize commercial fisheries by dividing the quota up and giving shares to fishermen as a long-term right. This allows quota shares to be bought and sold. Scientists would assign each fishery a Total Allowable Catch (TAC), which aids in, “promoting sustainable fisheries by ending the race for fish." It is said that ITQs would end the fishing “derby” because fishers could harvest their shares at anytime, without worry about infringement on their fisheries share. The benefits would include a more reliable product, a more efficient harvest capacity, and the eventual restoration of the fisheries ecosystem. Yet, according to the Economist, only 121 fisheries out of 10,000 plus fisheries participate in ITQs. And only 3 ITQs programs have been implemented in the United States.

The use of Individual Transferable Quotas has been in place in some fisheries for as long as a decade. The halibut fishery has seen an average fishing season as long as 8 months and fish can be sold at the most beneficial time of year without worry about shortages. A study documented by the Economist has concluded that fisheries managed under a ITQ system are half as likely to collapse as those not managed under a ITQ.

This market-based system has been called a privatized program, but its shares can be divided out among communities or cooperatives. Regulations can also be added to the program to ensure an equal division among shareholders. ITQs may be criticized for putting an economic value on a natural public recourse, but overall, “owners of ITQs should have an interest in the long-term health of the fishery, as a growing stock automatically means a bigger catch.”