Publications
To download a copy of the recent Stanford report, Taking Stock of the Regional Fishery Management Councils, please click here.
- Forthcoming SFPP papers include:
Eagle, J., R. Naylor & W. Smith, Why Farm Salmon Outcompete Fishery Salmon, Marine Policy
Abstract
Over the past quarter century, the salmon aquaculture industry has grown rapidly. Price declines caused by the resulting worldwide increase in salmon production have severely impacted the salmon fishing industry, particularly in Alaska. In this paper,
we examine the reasons behind the success of farm salmon. In addition to its inherent market advantages, farm salmon has
benefitted from a legal structure that limits the ability of the fishing industry to adjust to competition. We look at these fisheries laws
and at the impacts of various policy options on the future economic, ecological, and political sustainability of the fishing industry.
- Earlier SFPP papers include:
Naylor, R., J. Eagle & W. Smith, Salmon Aquaculture in the Pacific Northwest, Environment 45(8): 18-39 (2003).
Abstract
Many locals in British Columbia's Broughton Archipelago welcomed the salmon farming industry in the early 1980s. It promised jobs, more schools, and higher incomes. It was not until the regular pods of killer whales stopped returning -- and later when some wild salmon populations became diseased --that the locals became concerned. In Alaska, coastal ecosystems were protected from these impacts by a statewide ban on finfish farming in 1989. However, when the price of their commercial salmon catch plummeted in the mid-1990s, Alaskans became worried. Throughout the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, people now see the close connection between salmon farming, the environment, and international markets. As the global aquaculture industry continues to expand, what impacts will it have on local ecosystems and fishing economies? Eagle, J., B.H. Thompson, Jr., Answering Lord Perry's Question: Dissecting Regulatory Overfishing, Ocean and Coastal Management 46: 649-679 (2003).
Abstract
In 1995, in response to the distressed condition of the British fishing industry, the House of
Lords held a series of hearings on ‘‘Fish Stock Conservation and Management.’’ Lord Perry of Walton posed the straightforward question of why regulation was not succeeding:
If one takes all the management systems into account—TACs [total allowable catches, or
annual quotas], number of days at sea and the decommissioning programme—none of
them has stopped the gross over-fishing that has taken place. There seem to be three factors
to account for it: first, the scientific advice that is given; secondly, how far that advice is
accepted by politicians who set the TACs and quotas; and, thirdly, whether the fishermen
obey the regulations. Which of these are the most at fault at the moment?
Lord Perry’s question led us to ask to what degree publicly available information in the
United States could shed light on the sources of overfishing in individual fisheries—what we
will call ‘‘regulatory overfishing.’’ First, we set out a typology of the potential sources of regulatory overfishing. Next, we examine two case illustrations of federally managed, overfished fisheries in the United States. Each case generates important insights into the causes of regulatory overfishing and lessons for future management. In the final section of the paper, we make several suggestions aimed at improving fisheries management and the management process.
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