Herring is not the foremost on my mind. However I came across a recent thesis (defended 10 December 2005) by Hrefna M. Karlsdóttir â??Fishing on Common Grounds â?? The consequences of unregulated Fisheries of North Sea Herring in the Postwar Periodâ?? Doctoral Thesis, University of Göteborg. Read abstract here.
The term common property resource has been effectively used during the last forty years especially after Hardinâ??s classic discussion on the problem arising from an exploitation of a common property resourceâ?¦many scholars, especially anthropologists, have pointed out the misunderstanding of using the definition common property resource to describe a resource without any regulation. They have criticised Hardinâ??s study for allegedly ignoring the possibility of an information arrangement over a resource usage.
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When one gets rights under a property rights regime they are regarded as rights to use for oneself the benefit stream from the resource. This definition of property rights means that the claim one makes to a benefit stream is regarded as legitimate to those who it concerns or that it is protected by some kind of authority. The point is that it is not the resource itself that has any entitlement. Such entitlement lies with those who have the right to use the resource and benefit from it.
pp17-18.
Naturally I ignored the fish and found the commons. Good arguments with a few sources to look up. The interesting argument (for me) that the thesis puts forward is on the topic of how to create a successful commons. Here Hrefna writes:
Successful attempts to establish common property regimes or governed commons…are most likely to happen in inshore fisheries. The important presumptions needed include a small group of fishermen that have a stronger feeling for the common interests than for the individual, who know each other well and are able to control each others fisheries.
pp 20-21 my italics.
The last sentence there is probably the most interesting. The local fishermen could more easily persuade each other. Using tools such as social control and shared local values the commons could be maintained – probably becuase the shared resource is not depenedent upon maximising profits but ensuring a continued benefit stream for them and the future fishermen. The question therefore for me (involved in Creative Commons) is can such a local agreement be scaled up to an international level while maintianing this interconnectedness and social control necessary to maintain the commons?