Transformation of the Coastal Commons Through Cooperative Fishing Arrangements

Abstract

"For centuries the world's oceans have been regarded as the common heritage of all mankind, held in trust for the collective good. When demands upon the oceans were relatively few, such a perspective was probably not unreasonable. But the burgeoning of human populations and the accelerated growth of technology have conspired, in the latter decades of the twentieth century, to make the concept of a 'common property interest in the oceans' functionally obsolete.

"In response, many coastal nations have unilaterally extended economic jurisdiction over adjacent waters, traditionally regarded as 'open ocean.' Although petroleum exploration, minerals mining, etc., have been a consideration in extended jurisdiction, living marine resources, and particularly fisheries, have been the principal focus.

"While extended jurisdiction has characterised most of the world's marine fisheries for the past 15 years, nations continue to look for their comparative advantage positions in that sector. In so doing, they sample from a variety of production and trade arrangements.

"In studying the resulting resource allocation, analysts should distinguish between the terms of agreements between partners operating in isolation and those that result when there are many potential partners. Competitive conditions on both sides of the market for access to resources may reduce the magnitude of potential asymmetric information problems. Indeed, as the number of potential partners rises, instability and conflict within co-operative fishing arrangements may decline, smoothing the transition of the commons to a regulated resource management state."