A fisherman has an incentive to overfish because catching less fish today doesn't increase the number of fish he can catch in the future.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The fisherman's incentive to overfish is due to the fact that the fish population is a common resource, meaning that any fish he leaves in the water today can be caught by another fisherman tomorrow. As a result, the fisherman has no incentive to conserve the fish population, and will instead catch as many fish as he can today, regardless of the impact on the future fish population.

A Fisherman Has an Incentive to Overfish Because Catching Less