Publication Abstract

A perspective on the management of enhanced fish and shellfish stocks in the territorial seas of England and Wales

R.C.A. Bannister and M.G. Pawson

Added to the biological and technical aspects of enhancing fishery resources is the problem of how to ensure that the potential benefits materialize and fall to the investors, whilst at the same time avoiding conflict with existing fisheries interests. The basis for fisheries management in the UK is still one of open access and historic public rights. Generally, these rights are only withheld or regulated in order to meet biological objectives, but in some cases management is moving closer to limited preferential access and more stringent rules of conduct. Legislation facilitating this approach is most fully developed in some regulated fisheries for sedentary molluscs and for migratory salmon. This legislation recognizes the concept of ownership. Similarly, for non-fishery uses, the seabed is in some cases leased from the Crown Estates or from the UK government. We suggest that this philosophy could be extended to embrace the idea of tradeable shares, giving rights to participate in a fishery, and which could be used to generate finance both for stocking and enforcement of the regulations needed for enhancement to succeed.

Reference:

R.C.A. Bannister and M.G. Pawson, 1991. A perspective on the management of enhanced fish and shellfish stocks in the territorial seas of England and Wales. ICES Marine Science Symposium, 192: 242-246.