The Privatization of the Oceans

Erscheinungsjahr 2004
ISBN: 978-0-262-08334-8
Verlag: MIT Press

Buch, Englisch, 224 Seiten, Format (B × H): 164 mm x 238 mm, Gewicht: 431 g

Rich with detail and provocatively argued, this study of the development of property
rights in the world's fisheries tells the story of one industry's evolution and provides a useful
illustration of the forces that shape economic institutions. The emergence of exclusive individual
rights of access in the fishing industry began after the revolution in the international law of the
sea that took place in the 1970s, when the offshore area controlled by a nation for fish and other
resources expanded from 3 miles to 200 miles. Rögnvaldur Hannesson compares the subsequent
development of private property rights in the fisheries to the historic enclosures and clearances of
common land in England and Scotland and finds many parallels, including bitter fights over access
rights and the impossibility of accommodating all those who want to stake a claim. Overall benefit
to society in the form of increased efficiency, he points out, does not mean that all benefit
equally. After tracing the development of the law of the sea since the sixteenth century, Hannesson
considers what form property rights in fisheries might take and examines the forces behind the
establishment of exclusive use rights to fish. He argues that one form of exclusive use rights,
individual transferable quotas (ITQs), best promotes efficiency in the use of fish resources. He
presents case studies of ITQ development, ranging from successful establishment in Canada and New
Zealand to failures in Chile and Norway to experiments with ITQs in Iceland and the United States.
The development of economic institutions, he concludes, is an evolutionary process subject to
contradictory influences.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Hannesson, Rognvaldur

Hannesson, Ragnvaldur

Hannesson, R?gnvaldur

Fachgebiete

• Rechtswissenschaften Öffentliches Recht Verwaltungsrecht Verwaltungspraxis Public Management
• Rechtswissenschaften Öffentliches Recht Verwaltungsrecht Verwaltungspraxis Public Private Partnership
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Wirtschaftssektoren & Branchen Primärer Sektor Fischerei
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Wirtschaftssektoren & Branchen Öffentlicher Dienst, Öffentlicher Sektor

Über Autor(innen)

Hannesson, Rognvaldur
Rögnvaldur Hannesson is Professor of Fisheries Economics at the Norwegian School of Economics
and Business Administration and Research Director at the Center for Fisheries Economics in Bergen,
Norway.