Chapter 12 - Beyond Privatization: Rethinking Fisheries Stewardship and Conservation in the North Pacific

Abstract

In this chapter, we challenge the underlying assumptions driving fishery privatization processes, paying particular attention to the validity of the ownership-promotes-stewardship thesis. We argue that conservation solutions that create social inequities and alienate local resource users from the resource base are unsustainable and run counter to fisheries management goals of ecological, social, and economic sustainability. We draw on contemporary case studies from the North Pacific to highlight complex environmental and equity concerns in fisheries managed under various forms of individual transferable quota (ITQ) programs. We argue that the outflow of fishing rights from fishery-dependent communities, now a predictable outcome of ITQ management, is antithetical to the goals of resource governance and fishery conservation today. We suggest that rather than fully alienable private property rights that serve to sever relationships between people, places, and resources, we must consider the human–environment connections fundamental to the sustainability of healthy social–ecological systems. Central here is the need for alternative constructions of stewardship to better inform fisheries management.