Question

the fishery is the most important common property resource in canada. why is it so difficult to prevent over-fishing when the evidence is clear that over-fishing will deatroy the fishery?what kinds of policies have canada used to protect the fishery?

Answer 1

Because fishery is a common resource, it is not excludable but IS rival in consumption as no one is prevented from fishing (to an extent) but the more people fish, it diminishes the next person's use. It is difficult to prevent overfishing because people act in their own self-interest. Another point is that people also are not aware of how much others could have caught fishing before them and believe that they have a small impact as an individual. Cutting back as a collective would avoid some overfishing, however it is quite hard/ almost impossible to get the collective together and pay the funds to do so. Canada has made it a requirement to obtain a fishing licence and put in policies in which limit the amount of fish one person can catch that day, as well as put restrictions on certain species of fish that may be going extinct or rare. If anyone surpasses any of the laws they can get a decently expensive ticket. These regulations give people an incentive to not overfish. These policies definitely help protect the fishery but there will always be a tragedy of the commons when people break the law and go beyond their fishing limit, or maybe if a lake is really popular for fishing because it is closer to communities.