Paul Dragos Aligica & H. Sterling Burnett 
Sea Change: How Markets and Property Rights Could Transform the Fishing Industry 
How Markets and Property Rights Could Transform the Fishing Industry

Government management of fisheries has been little short of disastrous. In many regions, valuable fish stocks have collapsed as a result of overfishing. Ill-conceived regulation also means that every year millions of tons of edible fish are thrown back dead into the sea. While an absence of established property rights means that wild fish are vulnerable to overfishing, the problem is greatly exacerbated by large subsidies. State intervention has created significant overcapacity in the industry and undermined the economic feedback mechanisms that help to protect stocks. This short book sets out a range of policy options to improve outcomes. As well as ending counterproductive subsidies, these include community-based management of coastal zones and the introduction of individual transferable quotas. The analysis is particularly relevant to the UK as it begins the process of withdrawal from the European Union. After decades of mismanagement under the Common Fisheries Policy, Brexit represents a major opportunity to adopt an economically rational approach that benefits the fishing industry, taxpayers and consumers.

About the author

Rachel Tingle studied economics at the University of Exeter before becoming a research fellow at the University of York and taking a master’s degree at the University of Surrey. She has had a varied career as an economist and journalist, which has included teaching at the Universities of Buckingham and Brunel, as well as working in the City, in economic consultancy, for a number of senior Conservative politicians, and in television, print and web journalism. For many years she has specialised in writing about the interface between economics, politics and Christianity and has written hundreds of articles and two books in this area.