ED, PERC, Reason
April 20, 2004

It's Here—But Reviews Are Mixed

Commentary

The long-awaited report of the U. S. Commission on Ocean Policy is out today (April 20, 2003) at http://www.oceancommission.gov/. Unfortunately, with respect to IFQs, the report deserves mixed reviews. Only two out of the 500-plus pages in the report actually mention IFQs, and the entire section on "Ending the Race for Fish" takes up just five pages. The commission recommends that the term "direct access privileges" be used, not IFQs or ITQs, apparently to keep them from being viewed as property rights. Furthermore, the commission wants these "privileges" to be of limited duration, and the commission does not discuss their transferability – even though transferability is essential to their success.

The report writers failed to take into account the positive reports from New Zealand where IFQs are treated as property rights. As quota holders with a right that extends into the future, fishermen are forming management companies that invest in stock research and are managing the resource cooperatively with the government.

On the positive side, however, the commission does recommend that Congress authorize these "dedicated access privileges" and that it "issue national guidelines . . . that allow for regional flexibility in implementation."

The discussion of IFQs and "direct access privileges" can be found on pages 232-236 of the printed version, available as a PDF on Commission site. Our discussion of the hurdles facing IFQs, including the pressure to limit their duration is found here at http://www.ifqsforfisheries.org/pdf/pr_ifq_hurdles.pdf, and Michael De Alessi's alternative to the commission's proposals can be found at http://www.rppi.org/pb29.pdf.