Abstract

Although it is not a new environmental problem, overfishing is arguably one of the most serious environmental problems today. Despite decades of government regulation, fisheries are in trouble the world over.

With little doubt, the federal fishery regulations adopted in the last twenty-five years have failed to ensure sustainable utilization of U.S. fisheries. The existing regulatory framework is "a failed experiment that has led to the destruction of United States coastal fisheries." At the same time that the federal government adopted an elaborate regulatory structure, federal law has impeded the development of cooperative fishery management institutions that may have helped address fishery decline. Specifically, antitrust law has condemned arrangements that could help ensure fishery sustainability by limiting catches.

This Article explores the tension between antitrust principles and conservation of the marine commons.

This abstract has been adapted from the author's introduction.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Winter 2004

Publication Information

61 Washington and Lee Law Review 3-78 (2004)

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