More Fishers, Not Fewer:

Joshua Van Der Neut
Jun 30
3 min read

Why Competition Is the Lifeblood of a Fair, Resilient, and Sustainable Seafood Industry

For decades, Australia’s fisheries have been quietly reshaped — not by evidence of overfishing, but by a belief system. A belief that fewer commercial fishers must equal better outcomes. Fewer licences, fewer boats, fewer voices. All in the name of “sustainability.”

But this assumption is flawed. Reducing competition does not guarantee better environmental results. What it does guarantee is fewer choices for consumers, more concentrated control, and the slow erosion of our seafood sovereignty.

We don’t need fewer fishers. We need more — because competition is not the problem. It's the solution.

Competition Creates Value — On the Water and at the Table

In any healthy market, competition drives innovation, efficiency, accountability, and quality. Fisheries are no exception. When there are more active fishers — independently owned, locally embedded, and market-driven — the benefits flow:

Greater diversity and availability of local seafood
Competitive pricing that puts downward pressure on margins
Robust regional employment and generational succession
Resilient supply chains that don’t hinge on one operator
Adaptive, real-time decision-making based on local knowledge

This is decentralised knowledge in action — a core insight of Austrian economic theory. Each fisher is a node in a broader system, responding to shifting conditions on the ground (or in this case, the water). Their insights cannot be replicated or replaced by a central planner, a boardroom, or a spreadsheet.

When competition is stripped out, the system loses its intelligence.

Consolidation Isn’t Conservation

When policy architects or lobby groups push to “rationalise” the fishing fleet, the result is often the same: fewer operators, more concentration, and more bureaucratic control.

But fewer fishers does not mean less effort — it means effort in fewer hands. The total take may stay the same, but the structure changes dramatically:

Ownership becomes centralised
Small towns lose economic activity
Quota trading replaces traditional fishing knowledge
Access becomes limited to corporate licence holders
Consumers become dependent on imports or frozen alternatives

It’s not a more “sustainable” system — it’s just one that’s easier to administrate. For some, that’s the goal. But for seafood consumers and local communities, it’s a raw deal.

The Danger of the One-Size-Fits-All Fishery

Austrian theorists like Hayek warned us about this: when decision-making is centralised, it tends to ignore or override the specific, tacit knowledge held by individuals working on the frontlines. In fisheries, this knowledge is local, seasonal, species-specific, and nuanced — and it lives in the fishers themselves.

Strip away the fishers, and you strip away the system's ability to self-correct, to adapt, and to remain truly sustainable.

Real resilience is found in diversity — not just ecological, but economic and operational.

Fewer Fishers = Less Choice, Higher Prices, More Risk

When competition disappears from our fisheries, the consequences are predictable:

Consumers lose access to fresh, locally caught seafood
Prices rise as market power consolidates
Regional communities lose jobs, identity, and purpose
Risk concentrates — a single disruption can collapse supply
Environmental stewardship weakens as accountability diffuses

We see the same pattern repeated across industries — in energy, agriculture, and even housing. Once market diversity is gone, getting it back is nearly impossible.

The False Promise of “Effort Reduction”

Governments often frame licence buybacks or fishing restrictions as necessary steps to reduce pressure on the marine environment. But here’s the catch: demand doesn't disappear. It simply shifts to imported, farmed, or IUU (illegal, unreported, unregulated) product — often from countries with far lower environmental standards.

In the name of sustainability, we export both the environmental burden and the economic opportunity. This is not protection. It’s abdication.

A Smarter Future Starts With More Independent Fishers

If we want a future where:

Local seafood is available, affordable, and traceable
Fisheries are resilient, sustainable, and adaptive
Consumers have real choice and fair pricing
Rural and regional towns thrive through meaningful work

…then we must champion competition. We must protect the role of the independent, small- to mid-scale fisher — the very people who make the system work.

Not because they’re perfect. But because they’re present. Because they’re accountable. And because their competition keeps the system honest.

Join the Movement. Your Plate Depends On It.

Australia’s seafood future shouldn’t be decided by a handful of licence holders, a central authority, or a corporate spreadsheet. It should be guided by the people who live by the tides — and the millions of Australians who rely on them.