Overview, roles, and performance of the North East Atlantic fischeries commission (NEAFC)

According to the 1995 United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement (UNFSA), straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks are to be managed by Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs), consisting of coastal states and relevant Distant Water Fishing Nations (DWFNs). In the North East Atlantic there are several straddling stocks, including herring, mackerel, blue whiting, redfish and numerous deep sea stocks that are exploited both within coastal states’ 200 mile Exclusive Economic Zones and on the high seas. Management of such stocks poses special management problems. In this area, the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) represents the relevant RFMO. So far the literature has devoted little attention to RFMOs in general and to NEAFC in particular. The purpose of this report is, first, to provide an overview of the organisation, structure, and objectives of NEAFC and, second, to consider its performance with regard to resource management

International management of North Sea herring

North Sea herring is a transboundary resource, shared by the EU and Norway. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the harvests or total allowable catch quotas (TACs) for this species should be divided between these two countries so that both parties are satisfied. We apply a discrete-time game-theoretic model in which we show that the EU should be allocated more than half of the TAC even if the EU has higher harvesting costs. This result is due to the distribution pattern of the herring, with a larger share of herring located in the EU zone. However, we find that according to the Nash bargaining solution, the current sharing allocates too large a share to the EU

The development of a new farmed species : production technology and markets for turbot

Turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) is a high value fish that is much favoured in many market segments such as white tablecloth restaurants. Aquaculture of turbot started first in Scotland in the 1970s, but from the early 1980s the expansion in production volume and number of farms took place in Galicia, Spain. Still the main production takes place in Galicia with modest culture in France, Portugal, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Norway and Wales. This picture may change due to plans for substantial expansion of production in Portugal. As a consequence, aquaculture’s share of the market will dominate compared to the contribution from the wild fishery. The purpose of this report is to analyse current developments and make a forecast of future trends in turbot production and markets. There are important developments in farming technology that may impact on future supply and cost of production. On this background, we will analyse the future sustainability of turbot farming from a technological as well as economic point of view

Cooperative and non-cooperative management of the northeast atlantic cod fishery

The fishery for Northeast Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in the Barents Sea is one of the most valuable fisheries in the North Atlantic. After the introduction of Extended Fisheries Jurisdiction, cod is a shared stock between Norway and Russia. Overfishing of quotas has been a concern for a number of years. The purpose of this article is to analyse cooperative and non-cooperative management of the Northeast Atlantic cod fishery. This will be done in a game theoretic context, based on different assumptions regarding important variables such as cost of effort and initial stock size. The game theoretic analysis will be based on an empirical bioeconomic model developed and estimated by Hannesson (2007, 2010). The case of cooperative management is analysed for different cost parameters and starting values of the stock. An interesting result is that the optimal policy gives rise to pulse fishing. As this involves effort (and harvests) varying from year to year, potentially imposing substantial social costs on the industry in years when the fishery is closed, a policy of constant effort is also considered. Finally, non-cooperative management is analysed

On the Resumption of Commercial Whaling: The Case of the Minke Whale in the Northeast Atlantic

The International Whaling Commission (IWC) met in Reykjavik, Iceland, in May 1991 to determine whether the five-year moratorium on commercial whaling, implemented in 1986, was to expire or be extended. Japan, Iceland and Norway sought to resume commercial whaling on stocks of fin and minke whales, which they regard as capable of supporting commercial harvest without risk of extinction. The IWC voted to extend the moratorium at least one more year. Iceland has subsequently withdrawn from the IWC, and Norway and Japan are also considering withdrawal. A bioeconomic model is constructed that might be used to manage the industry if commercial whaling is resumed. It is applied to the stock of minke whales in the Northeast Atlantic. The optimal stock and level of harvest depends on eight bioeconomic parameters. For a fleet with average productivity, the stock ranged from 81,052 adult whales, supporting a harvest of 137 animals, to 57,770 adult whales, supporting a harvest of 1675. The price/cost ratio will be important in determining the optimal stock and the long-run viability of whaling.Key words: economics, commercial whaling, minke whaleLa Commission baleinière internationale (CBI) s'est réunie à Reykjavik, en Islande, en mai 1991, pour déterminer si le moratoire de cinq ans sur la chasse commerciale à la baleine devait expirer ou être prolongé. Le Japon, l'Islande et la Norvège demandaient la reprise de la chasse commerciale des stocks de rorqual commun et de petit rorqual, qui, d'après ces pays, sont capables de supporter une prise commerciale sans risque d'extinction. La CBI a voté pour la prolongation du moratoire pendant au moins un an. L'Islande s'est par la suite retirée de la CBI, et le Japon et la Norvège envisagent de faire la même chose. On construit un modèle bio-économique qui pourrait être utilisé afin de gérer l'industrie si la chasse commerciale reprend. On l'applique au stock du petit rorqual de l'Atlantique du Nord-Est. Le stock optimal et le niveau des prises dépendent de huit paramètres bio-économiques. Pour une flotte de productivité moyenne, le stock va de 81 052 baleines adultes supportant une prise de 137 animaux, à 57 770 baleines adultes supportant une prise de 1675 animaux. Le rapport prix/coût sera un facteur important qui déterminera le stock optimal et la viabilité à long terme de la chasse à la baleine.Mots clés: économie, chasse commerciale à la baleine, petit rorqua

The global market for tilapia : one or several

Tilapia is one of the fastest growing aquaculture species in the world. It is produced and consumed in all continents and in more countries than most other species, making the market more heterogeneous than for other successful aquaculture species such as salmon and shrimp. This paper investigates the degree of market integration between tilapia from the three largest production regions, Asia, Africa and South and Central America. We consider differences in the production methods, transport costs and qualities of these regions and determine whether tilapia products from different producers can essentially be considered the “same” product. This is important if the rapid worldwide development of farmed tilapia and its future development prospects are to be better understood

Measuring the extent of technical inefficiency in Nepalese agriculture using SDF and DEA models

Alleviation of poverty is a central issue in Nepal. Given the limited stock of land, and the infant/unorganised manufacturing sector, increased demand for food has to be satisfied by improving production efficiency. This paper examines how this could be achieved. An SDF model and DEA model identify the existence of a high degree of technical inefficiency in Nepalese agricultural production system, suggesting that there is a substantial prospect of increasing agricultural productivity using the existing level of inputs and resources more efficiently. Among the three farm sizes in the data set, medium size farmers achieve a higher technical efficiency than large and small farm sizes, suggesting that productive efficiency can be increased with the encouragement of creating medium size holdings. The observed decreasing returns to scale also implies that productivity gains could be achieved by breaking up of large farms into small family farms. The technical inefficiency model suggests the potential for shifting production frontier upwards by providing ownership of land, increasing farmers’ education, and knowledge and increasing land quality including irrigation facilities

Management of pelagic fisheries in the north east atlantic : Norwegian spring spawning herring, mackerel and blue whiting

The purpose of this paper is to give an overview over the fisheries for Norwegian spring spawning herring, mackerel and blue whiting and analyse how they are managed. The stocks under consideration are harvested by coastal states and distant water fishing states (DWFS). For herring, however, Norway, Russia, Iceland, the Faroe Islands and the EU are all coastal states with the stock not being exploited by any DWFS. There have been difficulties in reaching agreement of the management for all three stocks. The reason for these problems is that the distribution of the stocks and the different countries’ fishing opportunities have changed from time to time, putting the existing management arrangement under pressure. Here we review the management and current sustainability of the fisheries

Can land reform be an effective approach to alleviate poverty and inequality in Nepal?

Land is the main source of income and consumption for the Nepalese people. This study analyses the economic relationship between access to land and poverty in Nepal by establishing the link between land and consumption as well as land and income. A generalised additive model (GAM) and ordinary least squares (OLS) demonstrate that greater access to land for the poor increases income and consumption and thereby reduces poverty. The significant marginal value of land for both consumption and income implies that an effective land reform policy could well be the most effective approach to alleviate rural poverty. However, land reform must come as part of a larger overhaul. Cluster analysis shows that land reform should target appropriate subgroups within the community in order to differentiate those who would make use of the extra land from those who would not, and apply appropriate strategies to each subgroup. It reveals the importance of subgroups in determining an appropriate strategy for tackling poverty. Three distinct groups are found within our dataset that explain most of the variation

Rent dissipation and potential rents in the north sea herring fishery

The paper assesses the potential for rent generation, distinguishing between resource and intra-marginal rent, in the North Sea herring fishery. A bioeconomic model combining fish population dynamics with the economic structure of the fishery is used to generate equations to compute the different rents. A combination of biological data with vessel-level economic data for UK pelagic trawlers is employed in estimations. In order to assess the dynamics of both resource and intra-marginal rent generation, the model is evaluated under various assumptions with regard to price, cost, and discount rate. Potential total rents are measured at £90-91 million annually of which resource rent makes up about £89.0 million with intra-marginal rent measured in the order of only £2.0 million. This compares to an actual rent in 2007 estimated at £ 16.3 million. The results show that, in this fishery, rent is dissipated almost entirely due to excess effort while very little is dissipated due to suboptimal stock size