Legislating for Property Rights in FisheriesIn recent decades, the traditional public right to fish in tidal waters has been supplanted by limitations on access to the stocks, particularly for commercial fishers. This is achieved by statutory schemes establishing rights of varying natures. Where these rights are fully established, they highlight the legal characteristics of property. This study is a contribution by the FAO Development Law Service to the discussion on rights-based systems in fisheries management from a legal perspective. It outlines the development history of rights-based fisheries management, analyses the underlying concepts of property rights in fisheries and the terms used in property rights regimes, the governing legislation in jurisdictions that have introduced property rights in fisheries and the interpretation placed by the courts of the jurisdiction on that legislation. It also presents possible options for implementing property-based fisheries rights systems in national legislation. |
Common terms and phrases
AFMA allowable commercial catch amendments annual catch entitlement appeal applied AUSTLII Australia authorizations cancelled caveat coastal commercial fishing common law Commonwealth compensation Constitution Court created Crown declared determined developed effect eligible exclusive federal fisheries legislation Fisheries Management Act fisheries resources fisheries rights system fishing licence fishing permit grant harvest Iceland IFQs individual quota units individual transferable quota industry interest issued jurisdiction Legislating for property licence or permit Management Act 1991 marine resources Minister Namibia Northern Territory open access ownership particular person plan of management profit à prendre property nature property regimes property rights provisional catch history quota holders quota management area quota management system quota shares quota system regulation right of access right to fish rights in fisheries scheme share management fishery Share Register shareholders species specified statutory fishing rights Tasmania total allowable catch Treaty of Waitangi vessel waters Zealand