Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability 1

eries. When it works, community-based comanagementillustrates that the tragedy of the commons is notinevitable.Should We Use the Marketplaceto Control Access to Fisheries? Goodand Bad News about an InterestingIdeaSome countries try to prevent overfishingby giving each fishing vessel quotas that can bebought or sold in the marketplace.Some countries are using a market-based systemcalled individual transfer quotas (ITQs) to help controlaccess to fisheries. The government gives each fishingvessel owner a specified percentage of the total allowablecatch (TAC) for a fishery in a given year.Owners are permitted to buy, sell, or lease theirquotas like private property. Currently about 50 of theworld’s fisheries are managed by the ITQ system. Itwas introduced in New Zealand in 1986 and in Icelandin 1990. In these countries there has been some reductionin overfishing and the overall fishing fleet and anend to government fishing subsidies that encourageoverfishing.But enforcement has been difficult, some fishers illegallyexceed their quotas, and the wasteful bycatchhas not been reduced.Environmentalists have identified four problemswith the ITQ approach and have made suggestions forits improvement. First, in effect it transfers ownershipof publicly owned fisheries to private commercial fishersbut still makes the public responsible for the costsof enforcing and managing the system. Remedy: Collectfees (not to exceed 5% of the value of the catch) fromquota holders to pay for the costs of government enforcementand management of the ITQ system.Second, it can squeeze out small fishing vesselsand companies because they do not have the capital tobuy ITQs from others. For example, 5 years after theITQ system was implemented in New Zealand, threecompanies controlled half the ITQs. Remedy: Do not allowany fisher or fishing company to accumulate morethan a fifth of the total quota of a fishery.Third, the ITQ system can increase poaching andsales of illegally caught fish on the black market, as hashappened to some extent in New Zealand. Some ofthis comes from small-scale fishers who receive noquota or too small a quota to make a living. Some alsocomes from larger-scale fishers who deliberately exceedtheir quotas. Remedy: Require strict record keepingand have well-trained observers on all fishing vesselswith quotas.Fourth, the fishing quotas (TACS) are often set toohigh to prevent overfishing. Remedy: Leave 10–50% ofthe estimated MSY of an ITQ fishery as a buffer to protectthe fishery from unexpected decline.13-5 PROTECTING, SUSTAINING,AND RESTORING WETLANDSHow Are Wetlands Protected in the UnitedStates? Some ProgressRequiring government permits for filling or destroyingU.S. wetlands has slowed their loss, but thereare continuing attempts to weaken this protection.Coastal and inland wetlands are important reservoirsof aquatic biodiversity that provide many vital ecologicaland economic services. In the United States, a federalpermit is required to fill or to deposit dredged materialinto wetlands occupying more than 1.2 hectares(3 acres). According to the U.S. Fish and WildlifeService, this law helped cut the average annual wetlandloss by 80% between 1969 and 2002.There are continuing attempts to weaken wetlandsprotection by using unscientific criteria to classify areasas wetlands. Also, only about 8% of remaining inlandwetlands is under federal protection, and federal, state,and local wetland protection is weak.The stated goal of current U.S. federal policy is zeronet loss in the function and value of coastal and inlandwetlands. A policy known as mitigation banking allowsdestruction of existing wetlands as long as an equalarea of the same type of wetland is created or restored.Some wetland restoration projects have been successful(Individuals Matter, p. 266).However, a 2001 study by the National Academyof Sciences found that at least half of the attempts tocreate new wetlands fail to replace lost ones and mostof the created wetlands do not provide the ecologicalfunctions of natural wetlands. In addition, wetlandcreation projects often fail to meet the standards set forthem and are not adequately monitored.Figure 13-10 lists ways to help sustain wetlands inthe United States and elsewhere. Many developers,SolutionsProtecting WetlandsLegally protect existing wetlandsSteer development away from existing wetlandsUse mitigation banking only as a last resortRequire creation and evaluation of a new wetland beforedestroying an existing wetlandRestore degraded wetlandsTry to prevent and control invasions by nonnative speciesFigure 13-10 Solutions: ways to help sustain the world’swetlands.http://biology.brookscole.com/miller14265