Fisheries Exploitation Off Canada's West Coast: The Effects of National Policy

Abstract

"Over the past three decades there has been a manifold increase in the exploitation efforts applied to the world's marine fish stocks. By the end of the 1960s there were clear signs of biological overfishing for many of the more desirable and accessible stocks; annual catches were declining despite increasing fishing efforts. Recognition of this irrational use of the world's fish resources led to attempts at corrective action in two spheres. Domestically, several countries introduced management measures that regulated fishing efforts, with the aim both of conserving stocks and of improving economic returns to the fishing industry."