Scope and compatibility of measures in international fisheries agreements

finus, michael; schneider, raoul;

We set up a model that captures the spatial dimension of international fisheries in legal (i.e., internationally accessible high seas versus state-owned exclusive economic zones) and biological (i.e., various intensities of fish migration between zones) terms. We compare the success of regional fishery management organizations (RFMOs) for the first-best and two alternative management scenarios, related to restrictions regarding the scope and compatibility of measures. Whilst the performance of a given RFMO declines in the presence of these alternative management practices, participation might improve as free-riding becomes less attractive and the overall net effect may well be positive.