What is a resource rental?

A resource rental is a tax applied to the commercial use of natural resources. When the Quota Management System was introduced in 1986 quota holders were required to pay a resource rental on their annual catch of fish. The tax was terminated in 1994 and replaced with a user pays, levy based system. Over time the levies collected have not kept pace with the actual cost of administration, monitoring and ressearch. The lack of a resource rental on commercial catch leads to overfishing. Rescue Fish promotes a resource rental for all commercial catch landed to prevent overfishing and to acknowledge that a national resource is being exploited for private profit.