[Ilya Somin, September 19, 2008 at 7:54pm] Trackbacks
Using Property Rights to Prevent Overfishing:

Both the Economist and the BBC have just published interesting articles on the use of property rights to prevent overfishing in various places around the world.

Coincidentally, I covered this very topic in my Property class at Penn just a few days ago. I love it when education is "relevant!"

HT: Penn Property students Ramsey Younis and Michael Bolos.

Cornellian (mail):
The one in the Economist is quite short, but very good. Just finished reading it myself when I saw this post.
9.19.2008 10:02pm
Cur t Fischer:
It is worth noting that the BBC's and Economist's coverage of this issue was in all likelihood prompted by this Science article.

Science's own newsy feature on the study is here.
9.19.2008 11:51pm
Dan Simon (mail) (www):
Prediction: Eventually, the issue of overfishing will become moot, as the ratio of farmed fish to wild ones in the world's diet approaches the ratio of farmed ungulates to wild ones in the world's diet.
9.20.2008 2:29am
The Ace:
But they have created MASSIVE barriers to entry in their industry. Its the worst form of socialism. There are limited of fish to be caught, and the default rule is that "we" get them and "you" don't. If I wanted to enter than industry, I would have to buy quota from them. Nice. They basically gave themselves an asset which use to belong to no one. Even if a fisherman dies, no longer fish, etc., they (or their heirs) can sell the quota rights season after season.

The quota rights should be up for auction every year. Let everyone bid on fish quota. Then it becomes a property right. Now its just a giveaway.
9.20.2008 4:08pm