Property rights in ITQ fisheries: fact or fiction?


Property rights in ITQ fisheries: fact or fiction? By Sevaly Sen, Barry Kaufmann and Gerry Geen ABSTRACT Economists have often argued that the creation of some form of property rights in fisheries will reduce many of the problems of open access fisheries by creating incentives for more responsible and efficient harvesting. Such rights should be exclusive, definable, transferable and have some degree of permanence. For this reason, ITQs are regarded as one of the "higher" forms of property rights in fisheries. However, it is the way legal systems view the proprietary nature of ITQs which will determine the real strength of that right and the consequences which flow should that right be modified or taken away. Using examples drawn from statute and case law in Australia, Canada, Iceland and the USA, the paper discusses whether ITQs are property rights and whether they are indeed "stronger" rights than other forms of fishing rights, such as licences. View Property Rights: In the Wake of IFQs Session View Full Paper (PDF file)

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