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 reasons: 1. the change is not economically profitable for 

 them, 2. it is not congruent with existing social institutions 

 (Linton, 1936:341). If this body of literature is correct, 

 then we should strive to develop fisheries management regula- 

 tions which benefit the fish resources, benefit the fishermen, and 

 do not disturb key institutions and normative structures. In 

 this best of all possible worlds, the fishing industry would 

 gladly promote regulations which would maintain the fish stocks 

 at optimal levels. Unfortunately, this Utopian situation will 

 probably never occur in reality. 



A. Economic Costs and Benefits . The issue of economic 

 benefits acruing from fisheries management is a thorny one and 

 not well understood. Unfortunately, it is an important topic 

 since many of the traditional problems in the management of 

 marine fisheries stem from a lack of knowledge of aspects of 

 benefits. The essence of the problem is that it is not at all 

 clear who or what should benefit by management. It is not only 

 that we have little knowledge of the subject, but that there is 

 an apparent conflict of interest between those concerned with 

 fisheries so that if one group benefits, others will not. 



The facts are that it is in the fisherman's short-run 

 benefit to catch all of the fish he can as quickly as possible, 

 since the fish he conserves today will simply be caught by some- 

 one else tomorrow. It is not only that common property resources 

 like fish are not conserved, but also that they are subjected to 

 a kind of escalating exploitation as fishermen vie with each 



