Funding commercial fisheries management: Lessons from New Zealand

The funding of fisheries management in New Zealand over the last two decades is a complex story. It is a tale of fundamental principle, public policy experimentation, legal challenge and collective resolution of difficulties through tens of thousands of hours of research, review and constructive dialogue between stakeholders and the government. Importantly, funding issues cannot be separated from the evolution of fisheries management itself. Reviewing this history and tracing the maturing of fisheries management in New Zealand reveals many legal and institutional design lessons for fisheries managers considering cost recovery regimes in developed and developing countries.