Overfishing of Bluefin Tuna: Incentivizing Inclusive Solutions

Abstract

This article explores the depletion of Bluefin Tuna from an international law perspective, in order to analyze how international organizations might better manage and redistribute scarce resources. It assesses regime interplay, linkages, and new developments in the law of international organizations, to argue that coastal nations and distant water fishing nations should be strategically linking issues to reduce overfishing, and moreover, that Regional Fisheries Management Organizations should (and in some cases must, as a matter of law) improve their internal governance. The article argues that financial incentives to encourage a lower catch will ultimately lead to a more equitable and efficient system.