STOCK INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS FOR QUOTA MANAGEMENT-SYSTEMS IN COMMERCIAL FISHERIES

Economic inefficiency and other problems associated with managing fish eries through restrictions on fishing times, places and gear have led to development of management systems based on individual fishers' quot as, But this shift from input controls to output controls calls for mu ch more accurate and timely stock assessments. The risk of stock colla pse resulting from overfishing, coupled with growing pressure for low- risk resource management policies, call for conservative quota-setting in the face of uncertain stock information. Under existing assessment systems, quotas may need to be so conservative that foregone catches could wipe out the economic gains from quota management. This problem might be overcome by taking advantage of the incentives of quota-holde rs to contribute to, and invest in, the gathering of information to im prove stock assessments.