John Walden

A Limited Economic Assessment of the Northeast Groundfish Fishery Buyout Program

The United States and various European Union nations have used vessel buyout programs to reduce harvesting capacity in fisheries. In this paper, we present an analysis of the U.S. Northeast groundfish vessel buyout program. Using data envelopment analysis (DEA), we calculate capacity for both the fleet and for the vessels removed through the buyout program. Our analysis suggests that if capacity measures had been used to select vessels, both more capacity and more vessels could have been purchased with the funds allocated to the buyout program. We conclude with a discussion of alternative ways to reduce capacity in fisheries. (JEL Q22)

3 – A Framework for Monitoring and Assessing Socioeconomics and Governance of Large Marine Ecosystems1

This chapter has described a framework for assessing and monitoring the salient socioeconomic and governance elements of LMEs. The assessment and monitoring framework consists of 12 steps that, if applied, are expected to produce the essential information required for adaptive ecosystem management. The ecosystem paradigm is emerging as the dominant approach to managing natural resources in the U.S., as well as internationally. The shift away from the management of individual resources to the broader perspective of ecosystems has not been confined to academia and think tanks where it first began; it also is beginning to take root in government policy and programs. Many have advocated a new, broader approach to managing the nations natural resources. The approach recognizes that plant and animal communities are interdependent and interact with their physical environment to form distinct ecological units called ecosystems. The approach also recognizes that many human actions and their consequences, including marine pollution, extend across jurisdictional boundaries. This chapter presents a methodology for determining what is known of the socioeconomic and governance aspects—the human dimensions—of LME management. The chapter describes a basic framework for identifying the salient socioeconomic and governance elements and processes of an LME. Methods for monitoring and assessing the various elements and processes are also discussed in the chapter. There is description on the human dimensions of LMES, monitoring and assessment, applications of the monitoring and assessment framework, property rights entitlements and regimes for LME management, the structure of property rights entitlements in an LME, property rights regimes and management of LME resources. Property rights paradigm could be the framework necessary to design LME resource management policies for long-term economic growth and resource sustainability. Property rights establish the incentives and time-horizons for resource use and investment.

Application of Benefit-Cost Analysis to Fisheries Allocation Decisions: The Case of Alaska Walleye Pollock and Pacific Cod

Abstract The controversy surrounding a proposal to allocate walleye pollock Theragra chalcogramma and Pacific cod Gadus macrocephalus harvested in U.S. fisheries off Alaska is reviewed. The walleye pollock allocation, which generated the most concern, would apportion specific shares of the allowable catch to each of the two harvesting sectors, inshore and offshore, along with a set-aside for Alaska community development. The potential transfer is of enormous economic value for industry participants and underscores the importance of identifying the net economic gains (or losses) to the nation that might arise under the proposed allocation scheme. For this reason, a benefit-cost analysis was pivotal in the allocation decisions reached by the U.S. Department of Commerce. The benefit-cost analysis of the allocation proposal served to focus attention on the need for consistent social welfare accounting, of the kind that benefit-cost analysis provides, when management actions are evaluated. Conceptual and pract...

Buyback Programs: Goals, Objectives, and Industry Restructuring in Fisheries

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries has conducted several buyback programs to reduce harvesting capacity in fisheries. These programs have attempted to maximize capacity reduction given a fixed budget. However, restructuring issues have not been considered. We explore the possibility of satisfying three different buyback objective We examine the black sea bass trap fishery and determine the number of vessels given different allowable catch levels and objectives of maximizing technical efficiency, capacity utilization, and vessels in the fishery. We find considerable variation in the number of vessels allowed to remain in the fishery given the different objectives.

Measuring change in productivity of a fishery with the Bennet-Bowley indicator

The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service has undertaken to measure the economic performance of fisheries that have implemented catch shares as a management strategy. Among the metrics used, chang ...