Common property institutions in the Alaskan groundfish fisheries

This paper describes the process by which the groundfish resources off Alaska are being transformed from essentially open access to more manageable common property resources. Selected common property institutions that were created or developed in these fisheries are described in terms of the problems they were designed to solve, their success or lack of success in doing so, and the factors that influenced both emergence and success of these institutions. The institutions discussed include the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, the Community Development Quota system, the Pollock Conservation Cooperative, and the cooperative bycatch control system known as Sea State used by the factory trawler fleets. Conclusions applicable to other fisheries and other common property resources are then drawn from the analysis of these common property institutions in the Alaskan groundfish fisheries.