Fish Population Dynamic and Stock Assessment

10.4.5. Regulatory decisions

The process of making regulatory decisions depends on the existence of a legal basis, the objectives and technical reasons for the proposed decisions, the experience of people being regulated with past decisions, the perceptions of people about how the proposed regulations will affect them, the nature of the stock, and the administrative structure of the regulating agency.

Several aspects of the stocks must be considered during the regulatory process. If consistent regulations on many small stocks are needed, as in most domestic fresh water habitats, the regulations should be tailored to average conditions rather than to individual stocks. If a single large oceanic stock is being regulated, the regulations must be tailored to the stock. If the abundance of the stock is unpredictable, regulation of the catch may be modified on the basis of within season experience. If the stock migrates into another political jurisdiction, regulation should be based on agreement with the other government.

Regulation is more important for the recreational fishing system than for the subsistence or commercial systems.