ABSTRACT
Fisheries resources are vulnerable to over-exploitation, in large part because of their open-access nature. For long-term ecological and socio-economic sustainability, fisheries therefore need to be regulated by limiting Total Allowable Catches (TAC) and/or Total Allowable Effort (TAE). It can be argued that to maximize the efficiency of the fisheries sector tradable fishing rights is the way to go. This is the solution implemented successfully in countries such as Iceland and New Zealand (Scott, 2000; Arnason, 2005). In many developing countries, however, protection of traditional fishing communities and their subsistence fisheries is added. Objectives of fishing rights allocation can then include poverty reduction and preservation of traditional culture.
