The Application of Basic Economic Principles to Real-World Fisheries Management and Regulation

The article provides a brief history of fisheries management and the development of the fisheries economics paradigm taking into account the distinction between fisheries management (the decision to control the amount and timing of fisheries exploitation) and fisheries regulation (the specification of the rules and procedures to control the actual taking of fish such that actual mortality is equal to the desired mortality). It is noted that the concepts from regulation analysis have been commonly adopted in real-world management practices, but this has not been the case for the concepts from fisheries management analysis. Preliminary analysis of why this is so and suggestions for how to correct it are suggested.