Abstract

Following the exponentially increased demand for fishes, magnificent number of individuals are participated in various stages of capture fisheries in order to improve their livelihood. However, in Lake Tana fisheries, regulations related to gear restriction (fishing net and mesh size), destructive way of fishing, closing of spawning season and site, and amount of harvest are a loosely (almost not) regulated. This is attributed to weak institutions that have no incentives for fishers to manage efficiently in a way that maximized their present and future benefits. As a management framework, fishing gear restriction reduces the burden on the open access fishery and endangered species. On the other hand, ITQs encourage increased responsibility and accountability by quota owners for management and enhancement of the fishery resource. In this regard, ITQs is more efficient than gear restriction because of it creates sense of ownership and its flexibility in providing stable and profitable market.