ABSTRACT
The development and utilisation of New Zealand's wild fish stocks provides an outstanding example of the outcomes of two different governance structures. Until 1986 New Zealand fisheries were managed on the basis of input controls viz. licensing, controlled access, and so on. Within this period there were episodes of open entry spurred on by government subsidy. Although resource development and export growth occurred in response to these initiatives they did not occur within a legislative framework that promoted economic and biological sustainability. In the early 1980s firms could barely make a profit and valuable fish stocks showed signs of over-fishing.
