COMMENT: MARINE RESERVES: WILL THEY ACCOMPLISH MORE WITH MANAGEMENT COSTS?

Hannesson (Marine Resource Economics 13(3) 1998) takes a critical approach to marine protected areas (MPAs) using simulations of MPAs combined with open access. His results show the conservation effect of an MPA of an appropriate size being the same as that achieved with optimal quota regulation, but with a smaller catch. We expand this analysis by adding a management cost function and increasing the fishing costs to a more realistic level. It is shown that the use of MPAs of certain sizes can be a more advantageous management tool than traditional quotas; hence, the inclusion of management costs modifies some of the findings of Hannesson (1998). We also illustrate how sensitive the results are to the choice of fishing cost values, making the attractiveness of private property versus marine reserves much less clear than proposed by Hannesson (1998).Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Marine reserves. A bio-economic model with asymmetric density dependent migration

A static bioeconomic model of a marine reserve is introduced, allowing asymmetric density dependent migration between the reserve and the fishable area. This allows for habitat or ecosystem differences within and outside a reserve not described in earlier studies. Four scenarios are studied; a) maximum harvest, b) maximum current profit, c) open access and d) maximum sustainable yield (MSY) in the reserve. These are all analysed within the Induced Sustainable Yield Function (ISYF), giving the relationship between the fish abundance inside the reserve and the harvesting taking place outside. A numerical analysis shows that management focus on ensuring MSY within the reserve under the assumption of symmetric migration may be negative from an economic point of view, when the area outside the reserve is detrimental compared to the reserve. Furthermore, choice of management option may also have negative consequences for long run resource use if it is incorrectly assumed that density dependent migration is symmetric. The analysis also shows that the optimal area to close, a detrimental or attractive ecosystem for the resource in question, may differ depending on the management goal

Estimating Linkages between Redfish and Cold Water Coral on the Norwegian Coast

The importance of essential fish habitat in supporting commercial fisheries has received increasing attention in recent years. Bottom trawling is known to cause particularly destructive damage to habitat that is effectively non-renewable, such as cold water corals. This paper applies the production function approach to estimate the link between cold water corals and redfish in Norway. Both the carrying capacity and growth rate of redfish are found to be functions of cold water coral habitat and thus cold water corals can be considered an essential fish habitat. The paper also estimates a facultative relationship between cold water coral and redfish stocks. The essential habitat model shows the best fit to the data. Comparative statics of an essential habitat indicate an approximate annual loss in harvest of between 11 and 29% within the bounds of coral decline estimated by scientists. In terms of policy, our results indicate that essential fish habitat protection should be considered when managing commercially important species.Cold water coral, redfish, production function, habitat-fishery linkages, essential fish habitat, International Development, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Q22,

Exploring Perspectives of the Validity, Legitimacy and Acceptability of Environmental Valuation using Q Methodology

The extension of market systems and economic appraisal methods to the natural world and allocation of scarce resources is highly controversial and viewed by some as unethical. This has resulted in questions about the appropriate role of valuation and appraisal methods in informing policy and decision-making. We address this issue by assessing the different points of view that exist in marine research, management and policy communities regarding the estimation of monetary values for marine ecosystems and services and their use in appraisal and policy settings. The principal perspectives emerging from a Q-sort survey of x respondents reveal a clear distinction between a group that is highly sceptical of the framing of human-environment relations in terms of ecosystem services and of the use of economic appraisal and valuation tools in this context, and two or three other groups that are broadly favourable towards that paradigm and its methods, but with slightly different reasons for supporting valuation in practice. Despite the distinguishing features, areas of consensus emerge, including a strong shared perspective that places avoiding damage to marine biodiversity and ecosystems as a fundamental obligation. Furthermore, it is shown that the sceptics do not entirely reject valuation out of hand, but rather express understandable concerns about applicability and appropriate uses that are to some extent recognised by the pro-valuation groups

Willingness to pay for mangrove restoration to reduce the climate change impacts on ecotourism in Rekawa coastal wetland, Sri Lanka

This study investigates tourist preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for restoration of mangroves to reduce the effects of climate change (CC) on ecotourism at Rekawa coastal wetland, Sri Lanka, using a double bounded discrete choice elicitation format in a contingent valuation method. The survey also included socio-economic, demographic, and attitudinal characteristics of respondents. The results reveal that domestic and foreign tourists on average were willing to pay 2.65 USD and 11.4 USD per person, respectively, for mangrove restoration in Rekawa wetland. Among socio-demographic variables, education, age, and occupation had a significant effect on WTP. Furthermore, we show that foreign respondents with greater trust in the role of mangroves in mitigating the impacts of CC on sea turtles, and domestic tourists who believed effects of mangrove restoration in reducing the future vulnerability of urban expansion, were willing to pay more for the proposed mangrove restoration fund. Based on tourists’ preferences and WTP for mangrove protection, our results support the establishment of an environmental protection fund from the collection of tourists’ entrance fees using a dual pricing strategy, and the use of the funds for planting mangroves, patrolling mangrove areas to prevent illegal activities, and promoting nature-based tourism activities

Prospects for Valuation in Marine Decision Making in Europe

There is now high-level recognition that the UN Sustainable Development Goals can only be achieved if the decline of ecosystems and biodiversity can be halted and reversed. This will require effective control of ongoing pressures, meaningful protection and enforcement of protected areas, and significant investments in ecosystem restoration. This paper explores the possible use of economic valuation and appraisal in achieving these goals in marine systems and discusses the European marine policy instruments where they should have an important role The paper first briefly reviews the tools of economic valuation and appraisal for marine ecosystem management. A critique of the use of economic valuation and appraisal in marine conservation and restoration is then presented. The paper argues that while progress has been made there remains a pressing need for better integration of marine environmental values in policy processes. It also highlights the fact that the focus on natural capital accounting, and more generally on green/blue growth and market instruments, could create a reliance on exchange values at the expense of welfare values required for policy appraisal.publishedVersio

Why Fish Auctions Differ – Theory and Practise

In this paper we will study two auctions for fish found in Norway, and compare them applying auction theoretical assumptions. We will use the revenue equivalence theorem as a basis to explain why these two different auction mechanisms are chosen for the sale of fish. It is shown that the issues of risk aversion, common values and inclusion of travel costs may explain the choice of auction institution.Key words: fish auctions, Norway, revenue equivalenc

Prospects for Valuation in Marine Decision Making in Europe

There is now high-level recognition that the UN Sustainable Development Goals can only be achieved if the decline of ecosystems and biodiversity can be halted and reversed. This will require effective control of ongoing pressures, meaningful protection and enforcement of protected areas, and significant investments in ecosystem restoration. This paper explores the possible use of economic valuation and appraisal in achieving these goals in marine systems and discusses the European marine policy instruments where they should have an important role The paper first briefly reviews the tools of economic valuation and appraisal for marine ecosystem management. A critique of the use of economic valuation and appraisal in marine conservation and restoration is then presented. The paper argues that while progress has been made there remains a pressing need for better integration of marine environmental values in policy processes. It also highlights the fact that the focus on natural capital accounting, and more generally on green/blue growth and market instruments, could create a reliance on exchange values at the expense of welfare values required for policy appraisal

The ecological and economic value of cold-water coral ecosystems

Despite the growing scientific literature on cold-water corals (CWC) there appears to be no studies that address the economic values or economic management of the resource. This paper presents an overview of the goods and services of CWC and their associated biodiversity. Use and non-use values associated with CWC are presented, and the methods relevant for assessing their valuation are discussed. The impact of human induced disturbance on CWC is reviewed, in order to indicate how knowledge of CWC values can be used by policy makers in the management of CWC as a habitat and vehicle for biodiversity

People do care about the deep sea. A comment on Jamieson et al. (2020)

In a paper in this journal entitled “Fear and loathing of the deep sea: why don’t people care about the deep sea?”, Jamieson et al. (2020) pose this question and answer it with many interesting perspectives from psychology, ocean literacy and philosophy. However, there is an inherent assumption in the question they ask that people do not care about the deep sea. In order to assess this assumption, we contend that the first question to ask is: do people care about the deep sea? Based on the cultural significance of the theme of the deep ocean in art and literature, the results of ocean attitudinal surveys and the work done on deep sea economic valuation in recent years, we suggest that the answer is that people do care about many different aspects of the deep sea, not only the ones that hold market value, but also non-market values. It is nonetheless argued that the welfare benefits that societies gain from the deep sea are not at the fore in political discussions or marine policy making