Use of private access rights in fisheries: effective management through public transferability?

The aim in this paper is to put forward an approach to the issue of access rights that is suitable to Irelandʹs crustacean and molluscan fisheries. We begin by reviewing proceedings of a recent international conference on the issue of property rights in fisheries. We then pose objectives for fisheries management to be met by our approach. Following this, we outline the present limited entry initiative regarding crustacean and molluscan fisheries in Ireland. We conclude that—for fishers to operate with, but not exchange licences like, owners—a licence should be returned to the issuing authority once it is no longer being fished by its holder.