The Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976: Management Objectives and the Distribution of Benefits and Costs

The purpose of this article is to raise some questions concerning the appropriate objectives for fishery management. Management objectives are evaluated by examining the implications of different policies regarding the distribution of benefits and costs among the many and varied interests involved. Part I of the article begins with a discussion of the failure of the Act and its legislative history to provide satisfactory objectives. Part II identifies some of the interests related to the use of fishery resources, and Part III examines the likely effects on these interests of policy choices in three issue areas—the adoption of entry limits (including the technique of user taxes or fees), the investment of public funds, and the allocation of yields. In the process, an attempt to illustrate the importance of clearly defining management objectives is made