ITQ

For a long time we've been warned of the decline of the fisheries. The warnings have been particularly loud in my state, Massachusetts. And in the seven years we have lived on this island, it is obvious that fewer and fewer people are working as fishermen. The government has tried to cut down on the number of fish caught by limiting the season (fishermen buy bigger boats), limiting the size of nets (that hasn't worked either) and other means which have resulted in higher costs for the fishermen, fewer fish to sell and even more danger as some fishermen go out in all kinds of weather. And still the supply of fish diminishes.

Robert Stavins thinks that Individual Transferable Quotas (ITQ) would go far to resolving the problem. Basically, the ITQ is a permit enabling a fisherman to catch x number of fish; if he chooses not to catch x, he can sell the permit. Clearly deciding on the quota for an individual is no easy task. But a fair number of countries have done so. New Zealand has had a workable ITQ system for over twenty years.

Now, we need a champion to try it here.