Tragedy of the Commons and its Origins in the U.S. Flashcards
Review the two characteristics delineating private, public, club and common pool resources, and place ocean fisheries within that typology
Ocean fisheries are to be non-excludable subtractable, expansive territory and migratory (unbounded)
Review why, in a common pool/open access ocean fishery 1) it is rational for fishers to fish beyond the point where fish populations are able to rebound to carrying capacity; and 2) it is not rational for an individual fisher to cut back on fishing
3) Review at what point it is no longer rational for a fisher to fish in an open access fishery
- because there is more profit
- if you don’t take it someone else will
- when profit= 0
Review why open access is a 1) economic tragedy; 2) environmental tragedy; and 3) social tragedy
*Economic tragedy: declining profitability of fishers to zero
*Environmental tragedy: degrade fish populations ability to regenerate
*Social tragedy:
-Consumer: declining amount of fish on market (prices increase)
-Public land owners & tax payers: subsidize fishers
Review why many early Americans viewed natural resources, such as waterways, fish and wild game, as open access/common pool resources
Illustrate how the Hamiltonian vs Jeffersonian America debate was reflected in the cod fishery’s pound net vs haul seine battle
Pound net: rich high class, high labor, hiring people to fish, highly efficient, high yield (they caught everything
Small gear/Haul seine: cheap tech, small class, low yield, lower labor, feeding local market/people
*refer to SG
Define/explain common law and clarify when it is used
Common law: basic rules; reasonable conduct
*US inherits British Common Law System
In the absence of a statute (law) addressing an issue:
Courts resolve conflict among individuals by relying on standard of reasonable conduct & expectations [originally based on interpretations of Magna Carta]
*Once decision is made the decision serves as precedent for subsequent controversies that are analogous
Define/explain Public Trust Doctrine, and its implications for resource management
Public Trust Doctrine: The government/state holds certain resources in its trust (so that they may enjoy things like navigable water, carry commerce, liberty of fishing etc), there is a limit to privatization some resources are always common resource
*The State has the right to hinder private rights in the interest of the public. has a right to regulate – for sustainability
Describe the legal justifications that pound net and haul seine fishers each used in the court battle, link their arguments to their associated ideologies (economic liberalism or technocratic utilitarianism); and identify which argument won
*Pound net:
-More labor and capital intensive but was highly efficient– high yield outcomes.
-Wanted open access because of Common Law: there was no specific statute or law prohibiting their fishing practices.
- Technocratic
*Haul seine:
Cheap technology at small scale– low yield outcomes
Wanted state intervention to regulate resources because of the Public Trust Doctrine: state had a duty to regulate the fishery in order to prevent overfishing and ensure sustainability, thus protecting the common good.
Economic liberalism
Who wins: pound net
Review the Resource-economic development model, and identify example stakeholders in the fishing industry through backward, forward, final demand and fiscal linkages
- Backward Linkages: Boat, nets, gear, machine Manufacturing
- Forward Linkages: output-based industries- facilities in canning and freezing, seafood whole sales and grocery stores, companies that transport the fish
- Final Demand Linkages: incomes generated by the fishing industry lead to consumer spending- household goods (food/clothing)
- Fiscal Linkages: (developed later), fines, business taxes, licenses
Characterize the state of the US fishing fleet up to 1976
*Foreign fleets were only allowed within 3 miles of shore. U.S fleet was out competed.
*US was unproductive due to old technology
Importing ~75% of seafood supplies
Characterize the broad intent of the FCMA of 1976, and clarify how that aligned with environmental policies of the era
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (FCMA)
Broad Intent: Promote Fishing and Economic Benefit for the U.S.
- increase U.S. control over its domestic fisheries and enhance the economic benefits
- much of the U.S. continental shelf’s fishery resources were vulnerable to overfishing by foreign fleets
-stimulate rural economic development in coastal regions, particularly in areas that were economically dependent on fishing and related industries
- it did not fully align with the emerging environmental policies of the era,
Describe jurisdictional changes enacted through FCMA
