Question

Overfishing is caused by the “Tragedy of the Commons.” Explain why.

Answer 1

Tragedy of Commons means that in the absence of any private property rights or government regulation the common resources will ultimately be depleted because everyone will tend to act selfishly and try to gather as many resources as they can gather from the common resources. In tragedy of common, individual will try to exploit common resources to the extend that there demand will be surpass the supply and ultimately resource become unavailable for everyone. Overfishing is an example of tragedy of common. Fishes can be found in lakes, oceans or rivers which are generally not owned by any one individual. Everyone has equal right to fish in these places and such places therefore become common and fish become a common resource. However the supply of fish is not infinite and are somewhat stable. If each individual try to catch as many as fish he or she can catch, then the supply of fish will start to fall. This depletion of fish is the tragedy. Gradually, there will be no more fish and as a result, no one will be able to fish anymore. This is called tragedy of common, where because resource is available without any restrictions, the overuse of such resource will lead to there depletion and soon that resource will become unavailable.