Capturing the Commons by Acheson James M.;

Author:Acheson, James M.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University Press of New England

Table 5.12

Question: What is the most important problem facing your zone management council at present?

Coded responses # respondents % responses

Trap limit 146 11

Federal government 107 8

Lack of communication/cooperation 111 8

Over fishing 48 4

Licenses/license regulation 92 7

“Lack of concern for the future,” “Greed,” “Trap build-up” 128 10

Other responses 203 15

Don’t know 61 5

No response 451 34

Total 1,347

The answers to the question “What is the most important problem facing your zone management councils at present?” reveal a potpourri of concerns, ranging from actions the councils were considering or had undertaken, to the way the zone management system was operating (see table 5.12). Some gave answers that reflected a concern with issues the councils were dealing with in the summer of 1998. Large numbers of people were concerned with curbing the trap escalation, which was the most important issue being dealt with in the summer of 1998. Some called on the councils to enact trap limits; others were concerned about the motivation behind the trap escalation (e.g., greed, etc.). Others said they wanted a “tiered” license system as a means to handle the so-called “part-timer problem.”

Still others recognized the problems that actions of agencies of the federal government were posing for the industry and the co-management system. Many made specific reference to the whale controversy and the lobster plans put forth by the NMFS and the ASMFC. Many of these people wanted less intervention or no intervention by the federal government on ideological grounds, reflecting a growing feeling in the country that too much power is being concentrated in the hands of the central government. But some of these people had very serious and sensible misgivings about the specifics of the plans being put forth by the NMFS on both the whale issue and lobster management.

Others were concerned with the operational problems the councils were facing. In this category is a concern with communication among the fishermen, the zone councils, and the DMR. This was clearly a way of saying that they did not feel they were being listened to by the zone councils and Lobster Advisory Council, whose attention was riveted on the threat of federal intervention.

The largest number of respondents did not answer the question. It is difficult to know how to interpret this. They may not have wanted to think about the problem, but it may also indicate that many respondents could not name a single all-important problem facing the zone council.

Table 5.13

Question: What is the solution to this problem?

Coded responses # respondents % responses

Trap limit or trap freeze 351 31

Limited entry 166 15

Tiered licenses based on income 73 6

Leave us alone 105 9

Other conservation rules (seasons, V-notch, increase measure, increase vent, etc.) 119 11

Other 329 29

Total 1,143

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.