The genesis of this conference was on a quay of the port of Bergen in March 1985. Ragnar Amason suggested to Phil Neher a small, mid-Atlantic conference on recent developments in fishery management. In the event, more than twenty papers were scheduled and over one hundred and fifty conferees were registered. Logistical complications were sorted through for a summer 1988 conference in Iceland. The really innovative management programs were in the South Pacific; Aus tralia and New Zealand had introduced Individual Transferable Quotas (ITQs); and Iceland, Norway and Canada were also experimenting with quotas. It seemed to the program committee (Rognvaldur Hannesson and Geoffrey Waugh were soon on board) that these quotas had more or less characteristics of property rights. Property rights were also taking other forms in other places (time and area licenses, restrictive licensing of vessels and gear, traditional use rights). The idea of rights based fishing became the theme of the conference."

Each year, thirteen million anglers enjoy the sport of saltwater angling in the United States, generating an estimated $30 billion in sales and supporting nearly 350,000 jobs. Recreational saltwater fishing, however, can significantly impact species of concern-species overfished or experiencing overfishing. Traditional angling controls bag and size limits and restricted seasons have fallen short in controlling fishing impacts and reducing conflicts among fishing and non-fishing interests. Evolving Approaches to Managing Marine Recreational Fisheries offers ways of overcoming such problems while providing anglers and the recreational service industry greater regulatory flexibility to enjoy the fruits of sportfishing. It features fourteen internationally recognized fishery experts presenting the pros and cons of using individual fishing quotas (IFQs), game tags, and angler management organizations (AMOs) in managing marine recreational fisheries, presenting both theoretical and practical solutions to help move recreational fisheries management to a new and improved level."

Each year, thirteen million anglers enjoy the sport of saltwater angling in the United States, generating an estimated $30 billion in sales and supporting nearly 350,000 jobs. Recreational saltwater fishing, however, can significantly impact species of concern-species overfished or experiencing overfishing. Traditional angling controls_bag and size limits and restricted seasons_have fallen short in controlling fishing impacts and reducing conflicts among fishing and non-fishing interests. Evolving Approaches to Managing Marine Recreational Fisheries offers ways of overcoming such problems while providing anglers and the recreational service industry greater regulatory flexibility to enjoy the fruits of sportfishing. It features fourteen internationally recognized fishery experts presenting the pros and cons of using individual fishing quotas (IFQs), game tags, and angler management organizations (AMOs) in managing marine recreational fisheries, presenting both theoretical and practical solutions to help move recreational fisheries management to a new and improved level.

The genesis of this conference was on a quay of the port of Bergen in March 1985. Ragnar Amason suggested to Phil Neher a small, mid-Atlantic conference on recent developments in fishery management. In the event, more than twenty papers were scheduled and over one hundred and fifty conferees were registered. Logistical complications were sorted through for a summer 1988 conference in Iceland. The really innovative management programs were in the South Pacific; Aus tralia and New Zealand had introduced Individual Transferable Quotas (ITQs); and Iceland, Norway and Canada were also experimenting with quotas. It seemed to the program committee (Rognvaldur Hannesson and Geoffrey Waugh were soon on board) that these quotas had more or less characteristics of property rights. Property rights were also taking other forms in other places (time and area licenses, restrictive licensing of vessels and gear, traditional use rights). The idea of rights based fishing became the theme of the conference."

Following the publication of seminal papers by professors H. S. Gordon in 1954 and A. D. Scott in 1955, active research has led to rapid progress in our understanding of the economics of fisheries. Fishing, however, is a complicated activity involving intricate interactions between man-made fishing capital and naturally produced fish stocks in an inherently dynamic and stochastic setting. Consequently, in spite of significant advances, important sections of fisheries economics remain largely unexplored. One such area is the economics of migratory fish stocks. In 1985, the editors of this volume embarked on a research project concerned with the optimal utilization of common Nordic fish stocks. A fundamental feature of some of the most important of these fish stocks, such as the Atlanto-Scandian herring and the Icelandic capelin, is their migratory behaviour. Not only do the migrations continuously alter the economic conditions for harvesting these species. They also result in the periodical transfer of stock concentrations from one exclusive fisheries jurisdictions to another. It was readily apparent that this behaviour constituted a crucial determinant of the appropriate harvesting pattern of these stocks. More importantly, however, migrations are by no means a unique feature of Nordic fish stocks. In fact, it appears that migratory behaviour is exhibited, albeit in varying degrees, by all species of fish. It therefore stands to reason that migrations constitute an important aspect of the economics of fisheries in general.

'The Sunken Billions: The Economic Justification for Fisheries Reform' shows the difference between the potential and actual net economic benefits from marine fisheries is about $50 billion per year, or some $2 trillion over the last three decades. If fish stocks were rebuilt, the current marine catch could be achieved with approximately half the current global fishing effort. This illustrates the massive overcapacity of the global fleet. The excess competition for the limited fish resources results in declining productivity, economic inefficiency, and depressed fisher incomes. The focus on the deteriorating biological health of world fisheries has tended to obscure their equally critical economic health. Achieving sustainable fisheries presents challenges not only of biology and ecology, but also of managing political and economic processes and replacing pernicious incentives with those that foster improved governance and responsible stewardship. Improved governance of marine fisheries could regain a substantial part of this annual economic loss and contribute to economic growth. Fisheries governance reform is a long-term process requiring political will and consensus vision, built through broad stakeholder dialogue. Reforms will require investment in good governance, including strengthening marine tenure systems and reducing illegal fishing and harmful subsidies. Realizing the potential economic benefits of fisheries means reducing fishing effort and capacity. To offset the associated social adjustment costs, successful reforms should provide for social safety nets and alternative economic opportunities for affected communities.

This is a collection of papers originally presented at an international conference on Individual Transferable Quotas, ITQs, held in Reykjavik in November of 1998. In this book, eleven authors, including Anthony Scott, the pioneer in the economies of fisheries, and Phillip Major, a former administrator of the New Zealand ITQ system, explore the theory and practice of ITQs. They discuss possible future extensions of ITQs, their political acceptability, the approach known as Free Market Environmentalism, the evolution and performance of systems of ITQs in New Zealand and Iceland, advances in the technology necessary to husband marine resources, the possibility of self-management in fisheries, the demand for resource rentals, and other aspects of ITQ systems.

A collection of six essays dealing with statistical and modeling methodology in fisheries management. Some of the essays are principally descriptive, but others are analytical and empirical, describing estimation and modeling techniques that are more advanced that those usually employed by the public agencies charged with responsibility for formulating fisheries policy. All of the essays contained in this volume are the result of an EU-funded research project called Innovative Integrated Bio-Economic Models for the Management of Multi-Species, Multi-Gear Fisheries.