The Demand for Eastern Oysters, Crassostrea virginica, from the Gulf of Mexico in the Presence of Vibrio vulnificus

California, in response to health concerns, initiated a program on 1 March 1991 which required anyone selling eastern oysters, Crassostrea virginica, from the Gulf of Mexico area to notify potential consumers that there was a risk in consuming them raw. This mandatory warning, followed shortly thereafter by a similar warning in other states, including Louisiana and Florida, received extensive press cover-age throughout the country and particularly in the Gulf area. This paper examines the extent to which the demand for Gulf-area oysters has been reduced as a result of mandatory warning labels and negative publicity. In general, the results suggest that since 1991 the “summer” dockside price has been reduced by about 50% as a result of warning labels and associated negative publicity, while the “winter” dockside price has been reduced by about 30%

TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT IN MAURITANIAN CEPHALOPOD FISHERIES

If the technology in a multi-species fishery is such that there is jointness in inputs and non-separability between inputs and outputs, then management on a species-by-species basis may lead to unintended outcomes, including over-exploitation of the resource. This study investigates the nature of the technical and economic relationships underlying the 1989-1990 Mauritanian cephalopod fishery by estimating a system of dual output supply functions derived from a generalized Leontief revenue function. Model results indicate the existence of jointness in inputs and non-separability between inputs and outputs in the fishery. Cross-price elasticities indicated a number of substitute and complementary relationships, with these relationships changing in magnitude across years. Taken together, the results suggest that any attempts to economically manage the resource should be based on multi-product production theory, not single-species biological response functions. Besides ruling out single-species management, the dominance of substitute relationships in the Mauritanian cephalopod fishery precludes the use of "key species" management of the entire resource.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT IN MAURITANIAN CEPHALOPOD FISHERIES

If the technology in a multi-species fishery is such that there is jointness in inputs and non-separability between inputs and outputs, then management on a species-by-species basis may lead to unintended outcomes, including over-exploitation of the resource. This study investigates the nature of the technical and economic relationships underlying the 1989-90 Mauritanian cephalopod fishery by estimating a system of dual output supply functions derived from a generalized Leontief revenue function. Model results indicate the existence of jointness in inputs and non-separability between inputs and outputs in the fishery. Cross-price elasticities indicated a number of substitute and complementary relationships, with these relationships changing in magnitude across years. Taken together, the results suggest that any attempts to economically manage the resource should be based on multi-product product production theory, not single-species biological response functions. Besides ruling out single-species management, the dominance of substitute relationships in the Mauritanian cephalopod fishery precludes the use of "key species" management of the entire resource.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Impact of Shrimp Imports on the United States\u27 Southeastern Shrimp Processing Industry and Processed Shrimp Market.

The shrimp harvesting sector is the largest component of the southeastern United States fishing industry, accounting for 57% of the total value of landings in the region in 1996. U.S. shrimp imports were valued at $2.6 billion in 1996. Together, domestic production and imports of the raw product support a large shrimp processing sector, which provides several thousand jobs either directly or indirectly. In 1975 and 1984, the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) investigated the industry to determine whether the volume of shrimp imports was high enough to threaten domestic firms which were producing articles similar to, or directly competitive with the imported product. In both studies, the commission concluded that no harm was done to the processing sector. However, an analysis of the shrimp industry that focused on the processing sector revealed that imports did have a negative impact. The objectives of this research were to quantify the effects of imported shrimp quantities on processor margins and firm size distribution. Results showed that retail prices of shrimp negatively affected per capita shrimp consumption. Red meat and fish products were found to be shrimp substitutes. At the wholesale level, findings support a peeled shrimp sector dominated by imports. The import effects increased after 1983 due to the development of shrimp farming in South Asia and Latin America. Additionally, imports of headless-shell-on and other shrimp products have negatively impacted the domestic processing activities. The ex-vessel demand was responsive to changing domestic landings and imported headless-shell-on shrimp quantities. Wholesalers were not passing on increased production costs to consumers. Consequently the margins for processors of peeled shrimp and headless-shell-on shrimp narrowed annually by$0.0323 and $0.0407 per pound. The narrowing in the margins impacted the processor size distribution. In 1973, out of 181 active processors, 45$1 million a year, 38% between $1 and$10 million, and 21% above $10 million. By 1996, those percentages were 38%, 36% and 32% for categories 1, 2 and 3 with a total of 97 firms processing shrimp

IMPACT OF INCREASING IMPORTS ON THE UNITED STATES SOUTHEASTERN REGION SHRIMP PROCESSING INDUSTRY 1973-1996

This study analyzes the effects of increased shrimp imports on the price-cost margins in three sectors of the U.S. shrimp industry. Results indicates decreasing price-cost margins for peeled shrimp, breaded shrimp, and headless-shell-on shrimp. The increase in shrimp imports reduces domestic processor prices for shrimp products, therefore decreasing processor margins.Demand and Price Analysis, International Relations/Trade,

The Gulf of Mexico Grouper Fisheries: Heterogeneous Fleet and Expectations in Fishermen's Decision

This study focuses on Gulf of Mexico Fishermen's expectations about their revenues and risks when participating in the grouper fishery using handlines or longlines. Results indicated that expected revenues follow a seasonnal and a spatial pattern. Fishermen using longline are risk averse while handliners are risk takers.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Estimating the Economic Damage of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on Commercial and Recreational Fishing Industries

A USGS analysis of land change data from satellite imagery and field observation indicated that 217 square miles of Louisiana's coastal wetlands were converted to open water because of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Because of their physical location and marine-dependence, commercial and recreational fishing sectors in Louisiana received a disproportional economic impact from the hurricanes of 2005. Storm surge modeling was accomplished using the ADCIRC model with data generated by the National Weather Service on storm trajectory and storm magnitude and detailed data on coastal bathymetry and elevation. In our application of the ADCIRC model, a grid composed of 1 square-mile cells (and encompassing the entire coastal management zone) was used within a GIS context to predict peak storm surge water heights at every known fixed fishing infrastructure location (dealers, processors, marinas, etc.) in Louisiana. We then collected primary data from a sample of these locations that was used in estimating, among other things, the percent of infrastructure that was lost due to the storms and the dollar amount of that damage for each location. These two pieces of information were then used to statistically estimate a geographically specific surge height damage function that was subsequently applied to all (non-sample) infrastructure sites in coastal Louisiana, thereby allowing the calculation of aggregate storm impacts. Developing an estimate of direct damages to the commercial and recreational fleet required two distinct pieces of information - an accounting of the number of vessels lost or damaged during the storms, and a measure of the market value of each of the lost vessels. Given that no comprehensive listing of lost or damaged vessels was compiled post-storm, the loss of vessels was estimated by comparing the presence of vessels in trip-ticket data during the 8 month period following the storms with the same period from the previous year. A vessel that was absent in the post-storm period was assumed lost, and valued by its physical characteristics by employing a price regression estimated using data collected from the major commercial used-vessel marketing trade publications and websites. The loss of recreational vessels was similarly estimated using market-based price data from non-commercial marketing publications and state-maintained databases of recreational vessels and their characteristics. Loss estimates were developed separately for each of the 4 coastal management zones in Louisiana and then aggregated. In aggregate, dealers were estimated to have incurred $103,522,186 in losses due to the storms while processors across the coast were estimated to have experienced$63,836,142 in losses, for a total of $167,358,328. For comparison purposes, these losses are approximately 29 percent of the total annual revenue generated by the dealers and processors in Louisiana. Estimated commercial fleet losses amounted to$153,817,470, while the estimated total recreational fleet loss was estimated to be $224,004,486. Regional variations in losses were also examined and linked to specific storm characteristics. Interestingly, the sum of these loss estimates fall near the mid-point of the range of loss estimates generated by various rapid assessments in the weeks following the storms, suggesting that rapid assessment methods (at least in aggregate) may not be as subjective as they first appear.Agribusiness, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

An Inverse Almost Ideal Demand System for Oysters in the United States: An Empirical Investigation of the Impacts of Mandatory Labels

In 1991, mandatory warning labels were imposed on the sale of oysters harvested from the Gulf of Mexico. Using an IAIDS model, this paper investigates the impact of these labels on the demand for Gulf product as well related oyster products (the Chesapeake, the Pacific, and imports).Demand and Price Analysis,