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Econometric modeling of fisheries with complex life histories: Avoiding biological management failures

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Listed author(s):
  • Smith, Martin D.
  • Zhang, Junjie
  • Coleman, Felicia C.

Abstract

Economics of the fishery has focused on the wastefulness of common pool resource exploitation. Pure open access fisheries dissipate economic rents and degrade biological stocks. Biologically managed fisheries also dissipate rents but are thought to hold biological stocks at desired levels. We develop and estimate an empirical bioeconomic model of the Gulf of Mexico gag fishery that questions the presumptive success of biological management. Unlike previous bioeconomic life history studies, we provide a way to circumvent calibration problems by embedding our estimation routine directly in the dynamic bioeconomic model. We nest a standard biological management model that accounts for complex life history characteristics of the gag. Biological intuition suggests that a spawning season closure will reduce fishing pressure and increase stocks, and simulations of the biological management model confirm this finding. However, simulations of the empirical bioeconomic model suggest that these intended outcomes of the spawning closure do not materialize. The behavioral response to the closure appears to be so pronounced that it offsets the restriction in allowable fishing days. Our results indicate that failure to account for fishing behavior may play an important role in fishery management failures.

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File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0095-0696(08)00018-1
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Article provided by Elsevier in its journal Journal of Environmental Economics and Management.

Volume (Year): 55 (2008)
Issue (Month): 3 (May)
Pages: 265-280

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Handle: RePEc:eee:jeeman:v:55:y:2008:i:3:p:265-280
Contact details of provider: Web page: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/622870

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  1. Karpoff, Jonathan M, 1987. "Suboptimal Controls in Common Resource Management: The Case of the Fishery," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 95(1), pages 179-194, February.
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  6. Trond Bjorndal & Jon M. Conrad, 1987. "The Dynamics of an Open Access Fishery," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 20(1), pages 74-85, February.
  7. Massey, D. Matthew & Newbold, Stephen C. & Gentner, Brad, 2006. "Valuing water quality changes using a bioeconomic model of a coastal recreational fishery," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 482-500, July.
  8. Håkan Eggert & Ragnar Tveteras, 2004. "Stochastic Production and Heterogeneous Risk Preferences: Commercial Fishers' Gear Choices," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 86(1), pages 199-212.
  9. Homans, Frances R. & Wilen, James E., 1997. "A Model of Regulated Open Access Resource Use," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 1-21, January.
  10. Martin Smith & James Wilen, 2005. "Heterogeneous and Correlated Risk Preferences in Commercial Fishermen: The Perfect Storm Dilemma," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 31(1), pages 53-71, July.
  11. Lee G. Anderson, 1976. "The Relationship between Firm and Fishery in Common Property Fisheries," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 52(2), pages 179-191.
  12. Anthony Scott, 1955. "The Fishery: The Objectives of Sole Ownership," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 63, pages 116-116.
  13. Smith, Martin D. & Wilen, James E., 2003. "Economic impacts of marine reserves: the importance of spatial behavior," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 183-206, September.
  14. H. Scott Gordon, 1954. "The Economic Theory of a Common-Property Resource: The Fishery," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 62, pages 124-124.
  15. Boyce, John R., 2004. "Instrument choice in a fishery," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 183-206, January.
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Cited by:

  1. Stephen Kasperski, 2015. "Optimal Multi-species Harvesting in Ecologically and Economically Interdependent Fisheries," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 61(4), pages 517-557, August.
  2. Newbold, Stephen C. & Massey, D. Matthew, 2010. "Recreation demand estimation and valuation in spatially connected systems," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 222-240, April.
  3. Da Rocha, José María & Gutiérrez Huerta, María José, 2009. "Reference Points and Optimal Management in Stochastic Age-Structured Fisheries Models," DFAEII Working Papers 2009-02, University of the Basque Country - Department of Foundations of Economic Analysis II.
  4. Tahvonen, Olli, 2009. "Economics of harvesting age-structured fish populations," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 58(3), pages 281-299, November.
  5. Florian Diekert & Dag Hjermann & Eric Nævdal & Nils Stenseth, 2010. "Spare the Young Fish: Optimal Harvesting Policies for North-East Arctic Cod," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 47(4), pages 455-475, December.
  6. Springborn, Michael & Sanchirico, James N., 2013. "A density projection approach for non-trivial information dynamics: Adaptive management of stochastic natural resources," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 66(3), pages 609-624.
  7. Florian Diekert, 2012. "Growth Overfishing: The Race to Fish Extends to the Dimension of Size," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 52(4), pages 549-572, August.
  8. Huang, Ling & Smith, Martin D., 2011. "Management of an annual fishery in the presence of ecological stress: The case of shrimp and hypoxia," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(4), pages 688-697, February.
  9. Phaneuf, Daniel J. & Carbone, Jared C. & Herriges, Joseph A., 2009. "Non-price equilibria for non-marketed goods," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 57(1), pages 45-64, January.
  10. Carson, Richard T & Murray, Jason H., 2012. "Fisheries Management Implications of Intrinsic Under Identification of Growth Equation Parameters," University of California at San Diego, Economics Working Paper Series qt8bw0b76s, Department of Economics, UC San Diego.
  11. Asche, Frank & Smith, Martin D., 2010. "Trade and fisheries: Key issues for the World Trade Organization," WTO Staff Working Papers ERSD-2010-03, World Trade Organization (WTO), Economic Research and Statistics Division.
  12. Weninger, Quinn, 2008. "Individual Fishing Quotas in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico Grouper Fishery: Fleet Restructuring, Effort Reduction and Cost Savings," Staff General Research Papers Archive 12890, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
  13. Chen, Yong & Jayaprakash, Ciriyam & Irwin, Elena, 2012. "Threshold management in a coupled economic–ecological system," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 64(3), pages 442-455.
  14. Stafford, Tess, 2012. "Ignoring the Multi-species Aspect of Labor Supply Decisions in Spatially Explicit Bio-economic Fishery Models," 2012 Annual Meeting, August 12-14, 2012, Seattle, Washington 124367, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

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