Global wildlife markets and whale conservation

This case study coincides with a master’s thesis project conducted by Melanie Sturm in 2013-2014. It is an analysis of the relevance for wildlife markets to meet conservation objectives. Markets stand to be instrumental as more natural resources face the risk of overexploitation and/ or under-provision of proper control mechanisms and supporting infrastructure. Granted, market solutions are not a panacea, but there are settings and species for which rights-based management is appropriate, and this warrants investigation. One such example of these mechanisms is 'catch shares' for which portions of the total allowable catch (TAC) are allocated to resource users. This case study addresses the question: What would be the result of broadening the economic paradigm of wildlife markets employed commonly in fisheries to a policy that incorporates protectionist interests?   

Using whales as an illustrative example, this analysis explores the potential for catch shares to be a socially acceptable, economically efficient, and sustainable solution for certain wildlife plagued by a commons dilemma, and in doing so, identify the key considerations for rights-based management of threatened species.