Anne-Sofie Christensen

The Icelandic ITQ System

The fisheries sector is tremendously important for Iceland: the export of fish products accounts for a large part of the value of exported goods. Fisheries policy in Iceland is, consequently, of national importance to a degree that is not comparable to any of the EU member states. Demersal fish species (including cod (Gadus morhua), haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus), saithe (Pollachius virens), redfish (Sebastes spp.) and Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides)), flatfish and shellfish constitute almost 80% of the value of landings even though around 70% of the total volume of landings is constituted by pelagic species. Cod, which is mainly caught in the Icelanders’ own exclusive economic zone, is the economically most important fish.

Understanding Social Robustness in Selected European Fisheries Management Systems

Social robustness is a neglected but crucial component of fisheries management. We present a conceptual framework for evaluating social robustness and we apply it to the analysis of four case studies. We understand social robustness to be a combination of two factors that allow a management regime to adapt to a broad range of potential ecological, economic and political situations: acceptance by stakeholders, reflected in how they perceive and respond to management, and capacity for institutional learning, the process in which institutions change in reaction to internal or external socio-economic or ecological pressures.

The New Zealand’s Quota Management System (QMS) and its Complementary Mechanisms

The New Zealand’s Quota Management System (QMS) is one of the first individual transferable quota systems (ITQs) and the most referred example of implementation of right-based management in fisheries. In New Zealand various groundbreaking measures on fisheries management have been introduced. New Zealand does not share resources with neighbouring countries. All fisheries are under the full jurisdiction of the government and thus no external factors have affected the QMS system since its introduction. In addition, the government’s aim of achieving economic efficiency has determined that government intervention is low. The QMS has evolved being strongly market-based although the government changed the design of the QMS in its early stages due to stock collapses and Maori claims. The QMS has allowed the introduction of mechanisms implemented to reduce management costs, that are now entirely borne by the industry and tools aiming at providing flexibility to the system such as the deemed value instrument and the annual catch entitlement (ACE). Participation is another of the major improvements of the QMS. Indeed the management process is consulted to a wide variety of stakeholders who actively participate in input giving even in scientific matters. Although the system aims at reducing government intervention, drastic decisions of fishing closures are still being taken by the government. The aim of this chapter is to evaluate New Zealand’s QMS system in terms of biological robustness, cost-effectiveness of management, economic efficiency, and social robustness. The chapter is based on two sources of information: desk studies and a field study trip.