Improving Fisheries Management in Developing Countries

The adoption of individual harvesting rights, such as IQs, has substantially improved the economics of numerous fisheries around the world. Unfortunately, many developing nations cannot employ these management systems because they lack the ability to enforce them. This paper argues that in many of these fisheries, properly designed community rights-based management regimes (CFMRs) will both greatly simplify the enforcement problem and create conditions conducive to economically efficient fisheries. The key features of such a CFMR for Lake Victoria fisheries are outlined and its workings explained. The essence of the system is the allocation of strong harvesting rights, similar to IQs, to the lake’s fishing communities combined with total allowable catch (TAC) limits for the entire lake. The net economic benefits of a project to design, install, and operate this CFMR are estimated. While the estimated net benefits are highly positive, they are much smaller than the attainable net economic surplus obtainable from the fishing activity only.