Some Elements of an Evaluation of the Effects of Legal Factors on the Utilization of Fishery Resources

Abstract

Present fishing patterns, as with virtually all human activity, are reflections of the evolutionary course of history. The management of fisheries resources is often carried on in a framework containing codified remnants of this past. This situation is amplified by the common property nature of the resource which dictates that no single resource user has exclusive rights to the resource. A legal structure has arisen which is generaly representative of a past endorsement of freedom of the seas, a more contemporary interest in conservation, and a recently heightened interest in the economic well-being of the U. S. fishing industry. This structure differs for each fishery. In some cases economic viability is permitted while in others required harvesting practices of another era represent extremes of inefficiency. Examples of fisheries such as halibut, salmon, anchovy and shrimp indicate the varying degrees to which truly economic alternative resource uses may be possible. Dollar values can be attributed to the losses associated with the enforced use of certain inefficient practices.