Fishing rights, property rights, human rights: the problem of legal lock-in in UK fisheries

Appleby, T., Cardwell, E. , Pettipher, J. and Deming, J. W. (2018) Fishing rights, property rights, human rights: the problem of legal lock-in in UK fisheries. Elem Sci Anth, 6(1), 40. (doi: 10.1525/elementa.295)

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Abstract

Property rights are a widely advocated policy tool to encourage stewardship over a range of environmental goods. Despite the extent to which property rights are dependent upon law to work, economists rarely consider that property rights are enmeshed within a complex web of pre-existing national and international legal frameworks—such as human rights law—that put strict limitations on the way they operate. This important issue is illustrated here with reference to the legal struggles in the UK around the “ownership” of fishing rights. The social and economic changes under market-based management in the UK made the fisheries regulatory regime unpopular, and undoubtedly contributed to the overwhelming vote within the catch sector to leave the European Union, even though the responsibility to allocate fishing opportunities to the British fishing industry lay with the UK authorities. The lesson from the UK experience is that despite the legal-blindness of much resource economics, the application of economic theory should not outrun its legal foundations. We conclude that promoting the allocation of public fishing rights to the private sector without adequate safeguards—such as a valuation of the rights in question and carefully considered written terms and conditions—could be considered negligent.

Item Type:Articles
Additional Information:This paper is partially funded by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a charitable foundation helping to protect life and property by supporting engineering-related education, public engagement and the application of research. This work was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council [grant number EF/H013989/1]; and the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a charitable foundation helping to protect life and property by supporting engineering related education, public engagement and the application of research.
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Cardwell, Dr Emma
Authors: Appleby, T., Cardwell, E., Pettipher, J., and Deming, J. W.
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > School of Geographical and Earth Sciences
Journal Name:Elem Sci Anth
Publisher:University of California Press
ISSN:2325-1026
ISSN (Online):2325-1026
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2018 The Authors
First Published:First published in Elem Sci Anth 6(1):40
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

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