Fishermen Divided: The Impact of Limited Entry Licensing in Northwest Newfoundland

Limited-entry schemes have recently been widely touted as solutions to economic and biological problems in coastal fisheries. Here the experience of licensing in the shrimp and cod dragging fisheries of northwest Newfoundland is assessed in relation to the theoretical advantages claimed for it. After reviewing the development of the region's fisheries prior to limited entry, it is argued that the economic objectives of licensing were partially achieved but that the social consequences, principally the creation of state- supported social divisions among fishermen and maldistribution of incomes, suggest limited-entry licensing is a flawed management strategy in isolated, fishery-dependent regions.