Abstract
The fundamental problem of economic inefficiency in fisheries, the so-called common property problem, may be seen to be caused by inadequate or lacking property rights in the underlying natural resources. The introduction of Individual Transferable Quotas (ITQs) into fisheries represents an attempt to correct this failure. ITQs, however, are not property rights in the relevant natural resources, i.e. the fish stocks and their habitat. They are merely harvesting rights and thus far from ideal as property rights. Nevertheless, ITQs have been introduced in numerous fisheries around the world, apparently with generally, even consistently, good economic results. This paper outlines the basic theory of property rights and the strengths and weaknesses of ITQs as property rights in fisheries. The paper goes on to discuss the Icelandic ITQ system and compares its property rights value with that of the New Zealand ITQ system and the Norwegian IQ system. Finally, the paper reviews some measures of the economic outcomes of the ITQ system in Iceland.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anderson, P., Sutinen, J.G. and K. Cochran. (1998) Paying for Fisheries Management. Paper presented at the IXth conference of the International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade, Tromsø, Norway, July 8–11, 1998.
Anderson, L.G. (1992) Consideration of the Potential Use of Individual Transferable Quotas in U.S. Fisheries, Vol. 1. Overview Document. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
R. Arnason (1990) ArticleTitleMinimum information management in fisheries Can. J. Econ. 23 630–653
R. Arnason (1996a) Property rights as an organizational framework in fisheries: the cases of six fishing nations B.L. Crowley (Eds) Taking Ownership: Property Rights and Fisheries Management on the Atlantic Coast Atlantic Institute for Market Studies Halifax
R. Arnason (1996b) ArticleTitleOn the ITQ Fisheries Management system in Iceland Rev. Fish Biol. Fish. 6 63–90
Arnason, R. (2000) Property Rights as a Means of Economic Organization. In R. Shotton (ed.) Use of Property Rights in Fisheries Management. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper 401/1. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Rome.
Arnason, R. (2001) A review of International experiences with ITQs. CEMARE Report 59, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth.
R. Arnason (2003a) Community and cooperative fisheries management: possible applications to Mediterranean Fisheries M. Spagnolo (Eds) Conference on Fisheries Management and Multi-level Decision Systems: The Mediterranean Case IREPA Salerno
R. Arnason (2003b) On productivity and productivity growth in the Icelandic Fisheries E. Guð mundsson H. Valtýsson (Eds) Competitiveness Within the Global Fisheries University of Akureyri Akureyri
K.J. Arrow F.H. Hahn (1971) General Competitive Analysis Holden-Day San Franscisco
InstitutionalAuthorNameAuðlindanefnd (Committee on Natural Resources) (2000) Álitsgerð Auðlindanefnd Reykjavík
R.X. Barro Sala-i-Martin (1995) Economic Growth McGraw-Hill New York
C.W. Clark (1973) ArticleTitleProfit maximization and the extinction of animal species J. Pol. Econ. 81 950–61 Occurrence Handle10.1086/260090
P. Copes (1986) ArticleTitleA critical review of the individual quota as a device in fisheries management Land Econ. 62 IssueID3 278–291
Crutchfield, J.A. and Zellner, A. (1962) Economic Aspects of the Pacific Halibut Fishery. Fishery Industrial Research 1, US Department of the Interior, Washington.
G. Debreu (1959) Theory of Value Yale University Press New Haven
H.S. Gordon (1954) ArticleTitleEconomic theory of a common property resource: the fishery J. Pol. Econ. 62 124–42 Occurrence Handle10.1086/257497
Grosskopf, S. (1993) Efficiency and productivity. In: Fried, Í.H.O., Lovell, C.A.K. and Schmidt, S.S. (eds.) The Measurement of Productive Efficiency. Oxford University Press.
S.S Hanna C. Folke K.-G. Maeler (Eds) (1996) Rights to Nature: Cultural, Economic, Political and Ecological Principles of Institutions for the Environment Island Press Washington, DC
Hannesson, R. (1994) Fishery Management in Norway. In: Loayza, E. (ed.), Managing Fishery Resources, World Bank Discussion Papers 217, Washington, D.C.
G. Hardin (1968) ArticleTitleThe Tragedy of the Commons Science 162 IssueID3859 1243–1248 Occurrence Handle1:STN:280:CCaD3sfosFc%3D
A. Hatcher S. Pascoe R. Banks R. Arnason (2001) Future Options for UK Fish Quota Management University of Portsmouth Portsmouth
R.N. Johnson (1995) ArticleTitleImplications of Taxing Quota Values in an individual transferable Quota Fishery Marine Res. Econ. 10 327–340
P. Major (1999) The evolution of ITQs in the New Zealand Fisheries R. Arnason H. Gissurarson (Eds) Individual Transferable Quotas in Theory and Practice University of Iceland Press Reykjavik
InstitutionalAuthorNameMinistry of Fisheries (1999) Productivity in Icelandic Fisheries Ministry of Fisheries Reykjavik
National Economic Institute (2001) Afkoma í sjávarútvegi. Mimeogram.
P.A. Neher R. Arnason N. Mollett (Eds) (1989) Rights based Fishing Kluwer Dordrecht
OECD. 1997. Toward Sustainable Fisheries: Economic Aspects of the Management of Living Marine Resources. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Paris.
Pitcher, T.A. and Pauly, D. (1998) New Perspectives in Fisheries Management, Fisheries Center, University of British Columbia.
B.T. Runolfsson (1999) The Icelandic system of ITQs: its nature and performance R. Arnason H. Gissurarson (Eds) Individual Transferable Quotas in Theory and Practice University of Iceland Press Reykjavik
A.D. Scott (1955) ArticleTitleThe Fishery: The Objectives of Sole Ownership J. Pol. Econ. 63 116–124 Occurrence Handle10.1086/257653
A.D. Scott (2000) Conceptual origins of rights based fishing Neher (Eds) et al. Rights Based Fishing Kluwer Academic Publishers Dordrecht
A.D. Scott (1996) The ITQ as a property right: where it came from, how it works and where it is going B.L. Crowley (Eds) Taking Ownership: Property Rights and Fisheries Management on the Atlantic Coast Atlantic Institute for Market Studies Halifax, NS
Scott, A.D. (1999) Introducing property in Fisheries Management. In: Shotton R. 2000. (ed.) Use of Property Rights in Fisheries Management. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper 404/2. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
R. Shotton (Eds) (2000) Use of Property Rights in Fisheries Management Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Rome
Smith, A. (1776) An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, Edition by E. Cannan 1977, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL.
Statistics Iceland (2003) Afkoma Sjávarútvegs. Memorandum.
Turris, B.R. (2000) Comparison of British Columbia ITQ Fisheries for Groundfish Trawl and Sablefish: Similar Results from Programs with Differing Objectives, Designs and Processes. In R. Shotton, (ed.) 2000. Use of Property Rights in Fisheries Management. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper 401/1. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Rome.
G. Valatin (2000) Development of property rights-based Fisheries Management in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands: a comparison R. Shotton (Eds) Use of Property Rights in Fisheries Management Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Rome
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Arnason, R. Property Rights in Fisheries: Iceland’s Experience with ITQs. Rev Fish Biol Fisheries 15, 243–264 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11160-005-5139-6
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11160-005-5139-6