Enclosing the Commons
Individual Transferable Quotas in the Nova Scotia Fishery
Description
In 1991 the Atlantic groundfish fishery in Nova Scotia and southern New Brunswick experienced diminishing resources and overcapacity in the inshore mobile-gear fleet. The Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans instituted individual quotas (IQs) for this sector of the fishery. Soon thereafter the IQs became individual transferable quotas (ITQs). Enclosing the Commons explores the industrial micropolitics associated with the creation of the ITQ Group and the push to reduce overcapacity through economic concentration of quota shares.
This important study provides the first critical examination of an ITQ approach to fisheries management.
Reviews
"Everyone directly involved in the design of, or research into, ITQ systems should study this book closely since it contains much important information not otherwise available outside government files. "
- Trevor J. Kenchington, International Journal of Maritime History