Quota
quota
n
1. the proportional or part of a whole that is due from, due to, or allocated to a person or group
2. a prescribed number or quantity, as of items to be manufactured, imported, or exported, immigrants admitted to a country
[from Latin quota pars how big a share?, from quotus of what number]
Individual fishing quotas (IFQs) also known as “individual transferable quotas” are one kind of catch share, a means by which many governments regulate fishing. The regulator sets a species-specific total allowable catch (TAC), typically by weight and for a given time period. A dedicated portion of the TAC, called quota shares, is then allocated to individuals. Quotas can typically be bought, sold and leased, a feature called transferability
I have been thinking about QUOTAS. I am trying to understand BIG and complex issues relating to fishing quotas after much discussion relating to quota, quota shares and trading and leasing quotas.
QUOTA of space in the fish hold.
On our voyage, there was much discussion on possible claustrophobia in our allotted sleeping berths. Now that I am back in my spacious Glasgow flat with its high ceilings, I have been thinking about how privileged I am to have more than ample space to sleep and live.
TRADING my shallow bunk for the stars in vast Unst Skies.
I spent the night on deck cosy in my sleeping bag, waking every few hours to check the sky and Swans mast above. I realised how much I value having space above me (I am a flyer rather than a diver). I am sure there must be a ‘phobia’ relating to lack of sleep in shallow closed spaces.
In the past, fishermen on the Swan would have no time for such luxury, hauling fish through the night. I was very lucky indeed to spend a night on the deck of a 113 year old herring drifter on the most northerly point of Britain.
THE CROWDED STORM
Many communities worldwide live in crowded areas with limited personal space so 8 days on a crowded boat was hardly a huge burden to bear.
I have been reading ‘The Coming Storm’ (The people of Bangladesh have much to teach us about how a crowded planet can best adapt to rising sea levels. For them, that future is now)
“…a possible multifoot rise in sea level by 2100 as a result of climate change. Such a scenario
could mean that 10 to 30 million people along the southern coast would be displaced, forcing Bangladeshis to crowd even closer together or else flee the country as climate refugees—a group predicted to swell to some 250 million worldwide by the middle of the century, many from poor, low-lying countries”.
There are many QUOTAS to think about. Big and small.
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