Territorial use rights for finfish fisheries: a case study in Baja California Sur, Mexico

Abstract

Small-scale fisheries support millions of people around the world but they face a common issue of overcapacity which often leads to overexploitation of resources. One solution is to implement territorial-use rights in fisheries (TURFs), which are a form of coastal property rights that permit fishing by specific individuals or groups within a designated area while excluding all others. In Corredor San Cosme-Punta Coyote (the Corredor), Baja California Sur, small-scale fishers target 11 main reef fish species, of which the Pacific red snapper ( Lutjanus peru ) is the most economically important. In an effort to maintain and secure their fishery resources, the Corredor fishers are interested in implementing additional management strategies to complement existing no-take reserves. Among the different fishery management tools, some locals have considered TURFs as an option to manage their fishing grounds. Using a spatial bioeconomic model, we explore the possible impacts of establishing TURFs in the Corredor to provide fishers with the knowledge necessary to make informed management decisions for their fisheries. Of the five scenarios tested, the three incorporating TURFs had a larger increase in fish abundance, catch, and fisher profit after 20 years in comparison to the status quo and scenarios without TURFs. Conditional on the development of collaborative strategies and effective enforcement among fishers, TURFs may be beneficial to Corredor fishers.