This paper examines the recurring theme that fisheries management ought to emulate the institutio... more This paper examines the recurring theme that fisheries management ought to emulate the institutional arrangements governing other natural resources, such as public rangelands. Overly facile comparisons between fisheries and range have been based on a misguided vision of range policy and an obsession with the structure of property rights. The result has been a condition of “structural narcosis” that obscures
America's commercial fisheries are in jeopardy. With a significant percentage of the nation&#... more America's commercial fisheries are in jeopardy. With a significant percentage of the nation's fisheries depleted and fish populations declining in many regions, the health of the broader marine environment is also threatened. What should be done to reverse the decline and restore fish populations is a matter of much debate. However, most experts agree that our fisheries are not being managed in ways that will ensure the steady employment of fishermen and that will provide a dependable future supply of seafood to consumers.There are those who believe that privatizing our fisheries is the best means to address the present crisis. The potential that privatization has to resolve a number of the problems currently plaguing our fisheries is undeniably attractive. However, as pointed out by prominent economists Seth Macinko and Daniel W. Bromley in Who Owns America's Fisheries?, unless certain key provisions are incorporated into IFQ programs, the health and stability of our fi...
This article explores contemporary debates over property rights in United States fisheries in the... more This article explores contemporary debates over property rights in United States fisheries in the context of the public trust doctrine. The debate surrounding the privatization of harvesting rights in the halibut and sablefish fisheries off Alaska is used as a case study. The public trust perspective guides a new reading of the Alaska debate offering insight into current conceptualizations of both property rights in fisheries and the public trust doctrine itself. A contextual analysis of the early public trust doctrine reveals a strong symmetry between the debate over the early doctrine and that over the Alaska fisheries. Both are debates over fundamental ideas regarding the interrelationships between natural resources, rights, equity, progress and nationhood. A public trust-driven reading of the Alaska debate reveals how much our ideas about rights, and consequently about the public trust doctrine itself, have changed. In our quest for environmental preservation we have all but aba...
Recent contributions to the established scientific literature have re-energized the so-called rig... more Recent contributions to the established scientific literature have re-energized the so-called rights- based fishing movement (Costello et al. 2008; Heal and Schlenker 2008). These publications were accompanied by simultaneous releases in popular outlets emphasizing that the former had "proved" that "privatization" could save fish stocks (see, e.g., Anon 2008; Dean 2008). Arguably, we are witness to the culmination of over
Due to their small size and relative isolation, islands have historically been categorized as pla... more Due to their small size and relative isolation, islands have historically been categorized as places of refuge. In modern times, islands continue to serve as tourist destinations. Globalization, population growth, and depleting natural resources threaten the allure of many small island destinations. Arguably, the geographic barrier that inherently defines an island as an island - the ocean - is its
... Nat*l Research Council, Sharing the Fish: Toward a National Policy on Individual Fishing QUOT... more ... Nat*l Research Council, Sharing the Fish: Toward a National Policy on Individual Fishing QUOTAS (1999) [hereinafter Sharing THE FISH] and Seth Macinko, Public ... I hold that until they are brought into subjection or use by the labor or skill of man, they are not the property of any ...
Consideration of subsistence fishing activities seems particularly relevant to coastal fisheries ... more Consideration of subsistence fishing activities seems particularly relevant to coastal fisheries policy, yet formal recognition of subsistence fishing is often absent from associated policy frameworks. A critical problem is the very meaning of the term “subsistence.” A review of the literature on subsistence, dominated until recently by North American research, reveals a schism between interpretations emphasizing material aspects of subsistence and interpretations highlighting cultural aspects. The North American literature on the subject is heavily influenced by a focus on Arctic indigenous populations emphasizing cultural survival. Ultimately, subsistence can be a matter of survival in the belly, the soul, or both. International case studies suggest that different interpretations of subsistence are appropriate in different circumstances, and that appropriate policy can be fashioned only after the local context of subsistence is understood.
This paper examines the recurring theme that fisheries management ought to emulate the institutio... more This paper examines the recurring theme that fisheries management ought to emulate the institutional arrangements governing other natural resources, such as public rangelands. Overly facile comparisons between fisheries and range have been based on a misguided vision of range policy and an obsession with the structure of property rights. The result has been a condition of “structural narcosis” that obscures
America's commercial fisheries are in jeopardy. With a significant percentage of the nation&#... more America's commercial fisheries are in jeopardy. With a significant percentage of the nation's fisheries depleted and fish populations declining in many regions, the health of the broader marine environment is also threatened. What should be done to reverse the decline and restore fish populations is a matter of much debate. However, most experts agree that our fisheries are not being managed in ways that will ensure the steady employment of fishermen and that will provide a dependable future supply of seafood to consumers.There are those who believe that privatizing our fisheries is the best means to address the present crisis. The potential that privatization has to resolve a number of the problems currently plaguing our fisheries is undeniably attractive. However, as pointed out by prominent economists Seth Macinko and Daniel W. Bromley in Who Owns America's Fisheries?, unless certain key provisions are incorporated into IFQ programs, the health and stability of our fi...
This article explores contemporary debates over property rights in United States fisheries in the... more This article explores contemporary debates over property rights in United States fisheries in the context of the public trust doctrine. The debate surrounding the privatization of harvesting rights in the halibut and sablefish fisheries off Alaska is used as a case study. The public trust perspective guides a new reading of the Alaska debate offering insight into current conceptualizations of both property rights in fisheries and the public trust doctrine itself. A contextual analysis of the early public trust doctrine reveals a strong symmetry between the debate over the early doctrine and that over the Alaska fisheries. Both are debates over fundamental ideas regarding the interrelationships between natural resources, rights, equity, progress and nationhood. A public trust-driven reading of the Alaska debate reveals how much our ideas about rights, and consequently about the public trust doctrine itself, have changed. In our quest for environmental preservation we have all but aba...
Recent contributions to the established scientific literature have re-energized the so-called rig... more Recent contributions to the established scientific literature have re-energized the so-called rights- based fishing movement (Costello et al. 2008; Heal and Schlenker 2008). These publications were accompanied by simultaneous releases in popular outlets emphasizing that the former had "proved" that "privatization" could save fish stocks (see, e.g., Anon 2008; Dean 2008). Arguably, we are witness to the culmination of over
Due to their small size and relative isolation, islands have historically been categorized as pla... more Due to their small size and relative isolation, islands have historically been categorized as places of refuge. In modern times, islands continue to serve as tourist destinations. Globalization, population growth, and depleting natural resources threaten the allure of many small island destinations. Arguably, the geographic barrier that inherently defines an island as an island - the ocean - is its
... Nat*l Research Council, Sharing the Fish: Toward a National Policy on Individual Fishing QUOT... more ... Nat*l Research Council, Sharing the Fish: Toward a National Policy on Individual Fishing QUOTAS (1999) [hereinafter Sharing THE FISH] and Seth Macinko, Public ... I hold that until they are brought into subjection or use by the labor or skill of man, they are not the property of any ...
Consideration of subsistence fishing activities seems particularly relevant to coastal fisheries ... more Consideration of subsistence fishing activities seems particularly relevant to coastal fisheries policy, yet formal recognition of subsistence fishing is often absent from associated policy frameworks. A critical problem is the very meaning of the term “subsistence.” A review of the literature on subsistence, dominated until recently by North American research, reveals a schism between interpretations emphasizing material aspects of subsistence and interpretations highlighting cultural aspects. The North American literature on the subject is heavily influenced by a focus on Arctic indigenous populations emphasizing cultural survival. Ultimately, subsistence can be a matter of survival in the belly, the soul, or both. International case studies suggest that different interpretations of subsistence are appropriate in different circumstances, and that appropriate policy can be fashioned only after the local context of subsistence is understood.
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