BIOECONOMIC MODELING OF THE GULF SHRIMP FISHERY: AN APPLICATION TO GALVESTON BAY AND ADJACENT OFFSHORE AREAS

Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Seasonal demand and supply analysis of turkeys

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Bioeconomic analysis and management of the shrimp fishery of the eastern Gulf of Mexico

Vita.The impact of alternative management schemes on the shrimp fishery of the eastern Gulf of Mexico is analyzed using a simulation model. The model integrates biology and economics, simulating the population dynamics and harvest of shrimp and calculating the gross rent, total returns minus variable costs, accruing in the fishery. The biological portion of the model estimates shrimp landings by month, size class, and depth caught as a function of the population dynamics of pink shrimp, the dominant species in the study area, and the characteristics of the fishing fleet. The economic portion of the model summarizes the monthly and annual gross rent to the fishery. Price functions for various sized shrimp are dependent on landings of the respective size and the price of a size which can be substituted. After modeling the shrimp fishery so that a baseline for the 1963-75 period was established, the baseline simulation was altered to reflect present regulatory arrangements and presumed levels of fishing effort. This established a point of reference from which various scenarios and management alternatives were evaluated. The evaluations considered included (1) redistribution of the shrimp fleet's effort during the year which is related to present regulatory arrangements, (2) altering the minimum harvest size to 50 and 90 ta ils per pound, and (3) an optimization scheme maximizing annual gross rent accruing from the fishery. The analysis indicated how the composition of total landings changed with each scenario or alternative, altering the weighted average shrimp price, to ta l revenue, and rent. In most cases total landings increased and the weighted average price decreased from the current baseline simulation, and annual gross rent decreased. Utilizing an economic welfare framework, almost every scenario or management alternative appeared inferio r to the simulation reflecting the status quo

Bioeconomic analysis and management of the shrimp fishery of the eastern Gulf of Mexico

Vita.The impact of alternative management schemes on the shrimp fishery of the eastern Gulf of Mexico is analyzed using a simulation model. The model integrates biology and economics, simulating the population dynamics and harvest of shrimp and calculating the gross rent, total returns minus variable costs, accruing in the fishery. The biological portion of the model estimates shrimp landings by month, size class, and depth caught as a function of the population dynamics of pink shrimp, the dominant species in the study area, and the characteristics of the fishing fleet. The economic portion of the model summarizes the monthly and annual gross rent to the fishery. Price functions for various sized shrimp are dependent on landings of the respective size and the price of a size which can be substituted. After modeling the shrimp fishery so that a baseline for the 1963-75 period was established, the baseline simulation was altered to reflect present regulatory arrangements and presumed levels of fishing effort. This established a point of reference from which various scenarios and management alternatives were evaluated. The evaluations considered included (1) redistribution of the shrimp fleet's effort during the year which is related to present regulatory arrangements, (2) altering the minimum harvest size to 50 and 90 ta ils per pound, and (3) an optimization scheme maximizing annual gross rent accruing from the fishery. The analysis indicated how the composition of total landings changed with each scenario or alternative, altering the weighted average shrimp price, to ta l revenue, and rent. In most cases total landings increased and the weighted average price decreased from the current baseline simulation, and annual gross rent decreased. Utilizing an economic welfare framework, almost every scenario or management alternative appeared inferio r to the simulation reflecting the status quo