Privatizing the Commons
Can you imagine if fishing boat owners and corporations could sell fish they’ve never caught? How about if they could sell fish that have not even been born? Believe it or not, this is becoming reality as more and more of our nation’s fishery managers embrace so-called Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) programs.
IFQ programs give individuals or corporations a percentage of the annual allowable catch of a given species, and allow them to own and sell rights to future catches. Traditionally, the fish in the sea have been treated as a public resource and didn’t become private property until they were caught. And most people view the sea and its resources are common to humankind, not private property.
We know from experience that IFQ programs have consolidated profit within the fishing industry, decreased crew pay, harmed coastal economies and eliminated jobs. The lucky few quota recipients can sell rights to fish in the sea while the remainder of the people engaged in the fishery either become unemployed or are reduced to sharecroppers. Moreover, IFQ programs do not adequately address over fishing, and they encourage fishers to discard large quantities of fish that are less economically valuable – sometimes due to simple cosmetic flaws.
Congress enacted a moratorium on IFQs in 1996 but the moratorium has expired. IFQ programs are now in effect in Alaska, and the National Marine Fisheries Service is considering an IFQ program for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico.
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