On Tuesday November 6th, 2007 Dr. Seth Macinko spoke about the history of, and his views on, rights-based fishing.  His presentation was one of many in the 2007 Munson Marine Fisheries Lecture Series.  Focusing on the concept of Rights based Fishing Dr. Macinko discussed different types of fisheries regulation regimes and the rhetoric surrounding the often-heated Public debate.  Throughout his presentation Dr. Macinko referred to the privatization of our publicly owned fisheries through programs of limited entry, which he quite colorfully compared to “taxi cab medallions”.  While commenting on the tactics used to advocate for the existence of rights in fishing he spoke of “fancy diagrams and other lies”.  He cast doubt on the, “ownership leads to stewardship” hypothesis and its proponent’s assertion that their ideas are merely extensions of tried and true ideas first proposed by the late Aldo Leopold.   Dr. Macinko finished with a description of the rather dubious nature of various organizations whose primary mission is to lobby for a rights-based approach to fisheries management.

Programs that utilize limited entry into the fishery rely on the idea that the problem is too many boats chasing too few fish.  In addition to producing both inter- and intra-generational equity imbalances these programs fail to produce satisfactory results, because they fail to slow the race for fish.  Rather than many boats over fishing the resource you have “capital stuffing” in the form of larger boats.  The result is the same; a better approach would be to move from input to output controls.  Dr. Macinko suggests that the surest way to ensure long-term fisheries viability is with a total allowable catch system (TAC).  According to him using assigned catches as part of a TAC program can lead to various improvements he calls “smarter fishing” they include increased safety, product enhancements, greater profits, less lost gear, and finer attainment of TAC targets.  Another consideration in assigning catches is permit duration.  When permits are given without set expiration dates, not only is the perception of ownership -- and thus entitlement—created, but also the option to make adaptive management choices in the future is compromised. 

The proponents of rights-based fishing look to past exploitation of resource, and draw a line establishing a future right to the same.  They do so in part by making comparisons to the land use policies advocated by Aldo Leopold.  Dr. Macinko quite successfully argues that these comparisons are unfounded, and that the “rights” they are used to support do in fact not exist.  He cites directly the language of fisheries law, which expressly denies the existence of any property rights for permit holders.

The oceans remain a common resource and it is the role of the government to oversee its management to produce desirable outcomes for both present and future generations.  The argument that privatization will produce these outcomes has been tried and has failed time and time again.  The best way to ensure long-term sustainability is to assign catches as part of a TAC system, with periodic re-permitting.