In the icy rivers of Alaska, salmon is a vital resource for its fishing-reliant communities, indigenous peoples, and the economy. With Alaska being the home to all five species of Pacific salmon, the recent depletion in salmon populations by 80% between 2020 and 2022 signals that it is not just an environmental crisis, and the cause goes deeper than simply overfishing. The root of the issue can be traced back to what economists may call the “tragedy of the commons.”

Tragedy of the commons suggests individual fishers act in their self-interest and overharm common pool resources as they are non-excludable, yet rivalrous goods. Alaskan salmon is a prime example of a common pool resource – anyone can access it via fishing, but each salmon caught results in one less available for others. In this way, it can be argued that fishermen act as profit-maximizing producers with short-term gains in mind, disregarding the long-term negative externalities of threatening not only the marine ecosystem, but the livelihood of future generations.   

Currently, the government has implemented Individual Fishing Quotas, or IFQs, to allow fishermen a quantity to abide by, reducing pressure on fish stock. By creating a market for tradable quotas, fishers have a better incentive to fish sustainably as future profits depend upon a healthy salmon population. However, under the assumption that some fishermen may still act to maximize short-run profits, to maximize the effectiveness of such policy, perhaps a more economic solution could be to pursue collective self-governance. Instead of relying upon top-down regulation alone, fishing communities could manage the resource collaboratively on their own-terms. 

The Alaskan board of Fisheries could take advantage of their local proximity to incentivize long-term stewardship from a lower degree of imperfect information compared to the government. All in all, salmon depletion in Alaska highlights how cooperation and economics swim hand in hand, reminding us that sustainable resource management remains a collective responsibility. 



References:

“Common Pool Resources.” Obo, www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/document/obo-9780199363445/obo-9780199363445-0011.xml. Accessed 20 Oct. 2024. 

Fisheries, NOAA. “Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Common Terms.” NOAA, 12 Aug. 2021, www.fisheries.noaa.gov/individual-fishing-quota-ifq-common-terms. Accessed 19 Oct. 2024. 

Rosch, Carla. “Warming rivers and over-fishing leave native Alaskans facing 'salmon scarcity'”. BBC, 12 Aug. 2024, www.bbc.com/future/article/20240806-native-alaskans-facing-salmon-scarcity. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024. 

Sloss, Marlena and Dino Grandoni. “There’s a crisis in the Yukon River.” The Washington Post, 3 Dec. 2023, www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/12/03/yukon-river-salmon-climate-change/. Accessed 20 Oct. 2024.