Different Approaches to Efficiency Analysis. An application to the Spanish Trawl fleet operating in Moroccan waters

Several approaches exist for the estimation of technical efficiency. In this paper the four most relevant ones (Data Envelopment Analysis, Stochastic Production Frontiers, Panel Data and Distance Functions) have been compared. The different approaches have been applied to the to the Spanish Trawl fishery that operated in Moroccan waters. The study highlights some of the problems arising from the wrong management of the fishery. It can also be concluded that in most cases, the multi vs single output feature is determinant in producing higher differences in the efficiency estimates, though the effect of either ignoring or taking into account random error also influences the results.Dep. Business Administration and MarketingPostprin

Towards discard quantification of Data Limited Stocks based in on-board observers data: the case of Spanish fresh trawlers targeting black hake in NW Africa

Quantification of discard per unit effort rates (DPUE) has been proposed by the European Commission as a measure to manage the discarding of commercially fished organisms. In the Spanish fresh trawling fleet operating in North West Africa, both target species of black hakes, Merluccius polli and Merluccius senegalensis are data limited stocks (DLS). Hence, discards of these fleets are even more unknown but not unimportant part of the total catch (retained and discarded). Onboard observer data from commercial surveys from 2016 to 2018 provide a detailed source of scientific information about catches, discards, effort and technical factors in this fleet. This is the first quantitative analysis to model DPUE through generalised linear mixed models (GLMM), based on the explicit distinction between abundance and technical factors coming from information of observer surveys. We describe the relationship between discards and environment, catches of target and other species, effort of the fleet, spatial and temporal variation in discard accessibility, vessel characteristics, strategy of the skippers and market decisions. Unlike hake catches, discards were higher and more dispersed in shallower than in deeper waters. We identified two separate métiers for the Spanish fresh trawling fleet determined by depth and treated total discards as a stock unit susceptible of being monitored, managed and assessed. The strategy of the skipper appears to have a more important effect on discards than vessel characteristics. This study shows the importance of observer data for this fishery and identifies recommendations for the improvement in the scientific usefulness of logbook information.En prens

Investment and Decapitalization in the Fishing Industry: The Case of the Spanish Crustacean Freezer Trawler Fleet

The objective of this work is to estimate the capital stock invested in the Spanish freezer trawler fleet dedicated to the capture of crustaceans on the African coast, for the period from 1964 to 2019. The importance of having methods for the correct measurement of the capital invested in a fishing fleet is to be able to express in monetary terms the excess catch capacity, which is a signal of overexploitation of a fishery, that is, the fleet operates at a level of effort or capacity higher than the minimum amount required to capture the desired quantity at the lowest possible cost. Following a methodology based on the permanent inventory method, we obtained a model that explains the construction value of a fishing vessel as a function of its technical characteristics. The market value in successive sales was estimated as a function of the construction value, the age of vessel and other variables. In this way, we estimated the value that the market assigns to the possible increases in individual fishing capacity and the decrease in value derived from the technical obsolescence of the vessels. Finally, we calculated the gross and net investment series and net capital stoc

Fishing co-operation between the Kingdom of Morocco and the European Union : towards integrated and sustainable fisheries management

Traditionally, Moroccan fishery resources have constituted an Important asset for the country’s economy. Today the fisheries sector has become a matter of increasing concern to the local authorities since fish stocks located both within the coastal state 200-mlle Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the adjacent high seas are being depleted by overfishing. A considerable part of the problem of over-exploitation is mainly caused by European fishing vessels, which have taken a maximum of precautions to preserve their fisheries access to the Moroccan waters by means of licences, granted in majority to Spanish boats in the frame of a renewal of the four-year term fishing agreement between Morocco and the European Union (EU). In this regard, Morocco succeeded last year in cutting down the second four year fishing agreement (1992-1996) to three years, displacing the earlier granted access to European fishing boats. The main reason for this interruption is that scientists at the Scientific Institute of Ocean Fisheries (ISPM) in Casablanca, in collaboration with Tenerife Fisheries Institute, in Spain, had prepared a research report on stocks in the Moroccan waters, which concluded that the fish potential will no longer remain taking into account the current rhythm of exploitation. Accordingly, the Moroccan and European negotiators succeeded in signing a new deal last November 1995, after the EU Commission had agreed to all the fishing requirements that the Moroccan Government had repeatedly sustained in order to ensure the stable and rational fisheries management in accordance with the provisions of the International Law of the Sea. In the present research, the author intends to examine this ongoing fishing issue through the conclusion of successive agreements, which led the binding parties to economically, politically, and legally enhance their co-operation towards the implementation of an integrated fisheries management. The first chapter, therefore, will provide a general description of the Moroccan fishing sector with its geographical and socio-economic considerations as well as institutional and legal support. The second chapter will describe the stakes involved in the fishing relationship between Morocco and the EU, taking into account the socio-economic and political aspects of their respective economies. The third chapter will deal with the legal and compensatory aspects of the fishing agreements, highlighting the fishing practices in the Moroccan waters and the compensation issues involved in the granting of Moroccan fishing rights. This chapter will also emphasize the current national fishing regulations and their enforcement; Subsequently, the fourth chapter will analyse the rights and obligations of states with regard to the international conventions and conferences dealing with fisheries conservation and management; Consequently, the fifth chapter will attempt to propose an integrated fisheries management on the Moroccan coasts, based on some objectives and strategies, the current national action plan, and some technical restrictions as regards fishing access. Finally, in respect of the above assessment, the author will conclude by making some proposals for further improvement of the co-operation between Morocco and the EU in matters of sustainable fisheries conservation and development

Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries. Review of scientific advice for 2012 - Part 3 (STECF-11-15)

The STECF review of scientific advice for 2012 Part 3 was drafted by the STECF-EWG 11-17 Working Group held in Ancona, Italy from 17-21 October 2011. The Report was reviewed and adopted by the STECF at its 38th plenary session held in Brussels from 7-11 November 2011

Input Use and Incentives in the Caribbean Shrimp Fishery: The Case of the Trinidad and Tobago Fleet

This paper examines the economic factors that influence output in the Trinidad and Tobago shrimp fishery using a Generalized Leontief production function. Factors such as output prices and the use of inputs in the fishery are assessed. The artisanal and industrial fleets operate in a largely open-access fishery, which is seasonal. While shrimp is the main targeted species, various fish species are also targeted using gear modifications. It was found that for the artisanal shrimp trawl fleet in Trinidad and Tobago, effort, in terms of trip days, was estimated to have a significant effect on both shrimp and bycatch landings at almost similar levels. The relative price of the two species was not found to be significant, and no annual trends in the production of either was observed. However, the high season for shrimp landings, January to June, was found to have significant inverse effects on shrimp and bycatch landings.Generalized Leontief production function, effort, shrimp, Trinidad and Tobago., Community/Rural/Urban Development, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, International Development, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Q21, Q22, C33.,

Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) – Review of scientific advice for 2014 – part 3 (STECF-13-26)

fishJRC.G.4-Maritime affair

Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) - Review of Scientific Advice for 2011 - Part 3

Advice on Stocks of Interest to the European Community in areas under the jurisdiction of CCAMLR, CECAF, WECAF, ICCAT, IOTC, IAATC, GFCM, NAFO, and stocks in the North East Atlantic assessed by ICES.JRC.DG.G.4-Maritime affair