Can a Territorial Use Right for Fisheries management make a difference for fishing communities?

Territorial use rights in fisheries (TURFs) is a model used worldwide, in which the management of resources is carried out jointly by the administration and the users. In Chile, a TURF system named Management and Exploitation Areas for Benthic Resources (MEABR) was established during the nineties. The principal goal of the MEABR is the conservation of benthic resources, aiming for the sustainability of benthic fishing. Two decades after its enactment, doubts persist regarding the economic impacts generated by this regime. The present work uses a quasi-experimental method to evaluate the socio-economic impacts of this TURF system. A total of 2722 artisanal-vessel owners, separated into two groups, members, and non-members of a MEABR, were evaluated. We use data from a ten-year span from the beginning of the actual implementation of the MEABR to assess its impact. Results show that being a member of a MEABR increases income by 20%, on average.