1 MANAGING THE ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF FISHING, WHAT’S LEFT AFTER PROPERTY RIGHTS?

Commercial property rights in New Zealand are designed to address utilisation and sustainability issues relating to single-stock management. However, commercial property rights may not provide incentives that address environmental impacts of fishing if these impacts do not affect the value of the property right. But is it really that simple? This paper examines the circumstances under which these property rights also benefit the wider ecosystem, highlights where gaps remain and the subsequent implications for managing environmental impacts. For example, as more species enter a property rights-based system, benefits may accrue through reductions in capacity and effort, reduced discarding and an increase in information about fisheries through improved reporting requirements. These changes contribute towards an ecosystem approach to fisheries management. The additional benefits of the rights-based framework may also affect decisions relating to the use of other management tools. For example, in many states, MPAs are advocated as a key fisheries management tool as well as a reservoir of biodiversity. However, where the majority of mobile species are being managed sustainably through property rights, the role of MPAs, and the areas required to ensure ecosystem function may not need to be as extensive. The property rights system may be less effective where there are limits on the incentives that are connected with property rights, such as protected species bycatch or the effects of fishing on the benthic environment. In these circumstances, targeted spatial management or the extension and adaptation of the property rights framework may be required