annotated bibliography of fisheries economics literature - Office of ...

The Canadian Pacific fisheries currently suffer from excess harvesting
capacity. A recent Royal Commission has recommended a joint scheme of
royalties on the catch and a novel license auction plan to alleviate the
problem. This paper investigates the impact of these two policies. First,
the total royalty revenue is measured and then the royalty incidence across
fishermen, processors, and consumers is estimated. Next, we analyze the
license auction scheme to calculate the costs of these two policies. First,
the total royalty revenue is measured and then the royalty incidence across
fishermen, processors, and consumers is estimated. Next, we analyze the
license auction scheme to calculate the costs of purchasing the licenses to
the fishermen and the net costs of purchasing the licenses to the fishermen
and the net proceeds to the government after the retirement of one-half the
fleet under alternative possible selling strategies of fishermen. We conclude
that the royalty scheme would finance the retirement of the fleet in 13 years
and that the incidence of the royalty would vary greatly across species/gear
type. The license auction scheme, in contrast, is a potent policy measure
which under several scenarios could fully fund the buy-back program and
contribute significantly to public revenue.
Dewees, Christopher M. (1989). Assessment of the Implementation of
Individual Transferable Quotas in New Zealand s Inshore Fishery. North
American Journal of Fisheries Management, 9(2):131-139.
In 1986, New Zealand implemented an individual transferable quota system
(ITQ) for selected inshore fish species to promote conservation of stocks and
to improve the economic efficiency of the fishing industry. The objectives of
this study were to assess perceived problems and benefits of this new system
and its effect on the fishing industry. Data were obtained through interviews
with 62 industry participants from the Auckland region and 14 Ministry of
Agriculture and Fisheries staff. Over 75% of the fishermen were making
significant changes in their business because of ITQs. These changes included
minimization of costs and maximization of price received for their catch,
practices consistent with economic theory about ITQs. Industry and management
agency interviewees generally recognized ITQ benefits of reduced competition,
resource conservation, increased retirement security, reduced economic risk,
possession of a valuable asset, improved ability to plan, and the
professionalization of fishing. Problems with the system included discarding
of catches not included in an individual s quota, discarding of the lower
priced portion of catches of some species, enforcement, accuracy of total
allowable catch quotas, quota aggregation by companies, and high cost to
youths interested in entering the fishery. After 6 months under ITQs, 56% of
the fishermen and 100% of the agency staff interviewed felt this new system of
managing fisheries would be successful.
Dewees, Christopher M. and Glenn R. Hawkes (1988). Technical Innovation in
the Pacific Coast Trawl Fishery: The Effects of Fishermen s
Characteristics and Perceptions on Adoption Behavior. Human
Organization, 47(3):224-234.
The adoption/nonadoption of technical innovations was examined in the
Pacific Coast Trawl fishery using a model based on recent conceptual issues
raised in the innovation diffusion literature. Included in the model were
variables measuring each fisherman s personal characteristics and situation,
attitudes about fishing, and perceptions of each innovation s characteristics.
Data were collected in 83 personal interviews during spring 1984, a period of
economic crisis in the fleet. The results indicate that a different subset of
independent variables explained the adoption of each innovation. This appears
to be due to the innovation-by-innovation differences in the match between the
potential adopter and the innovation. The effect of variables on
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