Discuss the problems with policies to limit catch size and the use of the total allowable catch (TAC) policy

What will be an ideal response?

Governments have adopted policies to reduce the number of fish caught each year so that fisheries can be prevented from collapsing. Some policies, such as limiting the number of days of fishing or the number of fishing boats, have not worked because the fishers would use bigger boats that would allow them to catch the same number of fish as before but in a fewer number of days and with fewer boats.
One policy that seems to work is to use a total allowable catch (TAC) system in which biologists specify the TAC for a fishery. The chief advantage of this system is that it limits the actual amount of the catch so that the uncaught fish will still be able to sustain the population. One problem with the TAC is that fishing costs rise because fishers buy bigger boats to catch as many fish as possible before the TAC limit is reached.