Options for Development of an Individual Quota System in Japan Based on the Experience of Iceland, New Zealand, Norway, and the United States

Abstract

Under the New Fisheries Act, the government of Japan plans to introduce Individual Quota (IQ) management for all Total Allowable Catch management fish species when the fisheries for these species are ready. However, there are no concrete official guidelines for IQ in Japan. In order to provide a list of elements and options that Japan should consider when introducing IQ for major fisheries resources, this study conducts a literature review and analysis of IQ programs in Iceland, New Zealand, Norway, and the United States, as well as a review of Japan’s fisheries resource management system. This study suggests ten elements that Japan should consider in the design of its IQ program: 1) prerequisites, 2) goals of the IQ program, 3) eligibility to participate in the IQ program,4) definition of IQ, 5) IQ allocation, 6) IQ administration, 7) administrative cost and payers, 8) monitoring and enforcement, 9) avoidance of excessive concentrations of IQs and negative social impacts, and 10) review of performance. Based on the experience of other countries, this study also suggests that: (1) developing the IQ system for all national fisheries in Japan is a very large task. It should be done in an orderly manner and cannot be done quickly; (2) the IQ system needs some flexibility to fit characteristics of each fishery and community and should take advantage of Japan’s previous fisheries resource management experience; and (3) careful thought must go into how quota transfers and trade limitations can be used to achieve the economic and social goals of the IQ program, and dialogues with fishers are important.