Overcoming the “tragedy of the commons” in fishery management

Abstract

In situations of declining or depleted fish stocks, fishers seem to have fallen prey to the “tragedy of the commons”. This occurs because fishers face the dilemma that, although they understand that limiting their catches would pay off in the form of sustainable future catches, they can never be sure that the catch which they have just sacrificed will not be immediately snapped up by competing fishers. Standard economic theory predicts that, in such dilemmas, individuals are not willing to cooperate and sacrifice catches in the short term, and that, consequently, the resource is overharvested. However, over past decades, a multitude of research endeavours have shown that humans often achieve outcomes that are “better than rational” by building conditions where reciprocity, reputation, and trust help to overcome the temptations of short-term self-interest.