The E.U. announced its new fishing quotas yesterday, so that the various countries' agricultural ministers can now fight it out when the member states meet later in the month. The Maltese commissioner noted a need for "greater involvment of stakeholders." Perhaps the beginning of a call for more IFQs in Europe? There is a whale of difference between country-wide quotas and localized quotas. The latter may one day bring the success of sustainable fishing that the former cannot. If the ministers really want to take their national quotas seriously, they will start to foment more localized quotas, which will indeed involve the stakeholders in the fisheries.

And, today, the European Union went back to the seas to promote stiffer fines for marine pollution --- setting minimums for the European countries. The E.U. hopes to put another plan that would set minimum fines for sea captains into international maritime conventions soon. Malta, Greece, and Cyprus refused to include such a program in the E.U. plan.

UPDATE: PERC has a new book out on Evolving Property Rights in Marine Fisheries.