Quota discarding and distributive justice: The case of the under-10m fishing fleet in Sussex, England

• Published in: Marine Policy
• Main Authors: Gray, Tim, Korda, R C, Stead, Selina M, Jones, Estelle
• Other Authors: Newcastle University, Institute of Aquaculture
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2011
• Subjects: Discards; Fisheries quotas; Under-10 m fleet; Distributive justice; Sussex; Gadus morhua
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1893/28661; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2010.08.010; http://dspace.stir.ac.uk/bitstream/1893/28661/1/Gray-etal-MarinePolicy-2010.pdf

Marine fish discarding has become a contentious environmental issue, but little attention has been paid to the moral grievances that sometimes underlie discarding practices. This article explores such a moral grievance through a case study of the under-10. m fishery in Sussex, England, where discarding of cod (Gadus morhua) has become a highly charged issue, skippers blaming it on unjust quota allocations. The moral claim to a greater quota allocation is analysed using two conceptions of distributive justice, entitlement and desert. The conclusion reached is that the under-10. m fleet's entitlement arguments for a higher quota are weaker than their desert arguments, but that entitlement arguments weigh more heavily than desert arguments with government when it allocates quota.