Buyback Programs for Overcapitalized Fisheries: Approaches, Experiences, and Impacts for Southeast Fisheries: Discussion

Extract

Both of the papers presented in this session deal with various aspects of buyback programs for fisheries. Each paper highlights the need to rationalize capacity output in fisheries in which property rights are poorly specified. However, neither paper places buyback programs into a consistent framework in which the distinction between capacity reduction and capacity utilization is clearly recognized. This distinction is important in order to elicit the most appropriate policy response (particularly with respect to buybacks) to degraded fishery resources.