Man has always looked to the ocean as an important food source, and expectations as to what resources the oceans can bring have often been high: 'It is said that the last frontier of inner space lies in the oceans of the world, and that man, by thrusting back this frontier, may gain almost limitless resources to feed future generations' (Christy and Scott, 1965). However, as with any other resource, the ability to obtain maximum benefits from its exploitation rests on the ability to utilize it efficiently. Traditionally most fisheries were common property resources characterized by free entry or open access. This meant that the resource was open to anybody, and no one had the right to preclude others from fishing. However, free access to any scarce resource inevitably leads to inefficient exploitation. For fisheries, this involves over-exploitation of the resource and the application of excessive amounts of productive resources such as capital and labour to the production process.