Fierce negotiations began in Brussels today over European fishing quotas – who can fish what and how much – an annual spectacle which takes place under the auspices the massively failed, and hugely expensive Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). Over the past quarter of a century, the CFP has laid bare any illusion that the EU is capable of effectively managing European fisheries. The CFP has become a harbinger of national interests, which has resulted in environmental, ecological and economic disaster. In many parts of Europe, fish is now a luxury …
For years environmentalists have been prescribing mountains of new regulations on the fishing industry in an effort to protect fish populations. But their drive to micromanage the industry has not helped revive fish populations. Now, a study in Science finds that a market based approach the defines property rights, called Individual Transferable Quotas (ITQs), is succeeding where command and control regulation failed. The Economist reports: Most fisheries have an annual quota of what can be caught and other restrictions, such as the length of the season or the type of …
