A comprehensive bycatch market: investigating pricing mechanisms for ecosystem accountability

Master's Project (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2015This report takes an ecosystem approach to managing targeted and non-targeted species in the Bering Sea Aleutian Island commercial fisheries. The current regulatory environment sets biological harvest limits across fish stock's entire range, although the individual components of managing fisheries within a stock may lead to economic inefficiencies and difficulties in accounting for social costs due to blunt incentives. The research presented here outlines a model for scenario analysis and pricing mechanisms at each level of harvest across a species range. Due to the modeled indifference of harvesting in targeted or non-targeted fisheries, designations are made for degrees of ownership rights and monetary transfers to balance these rights in the presence of non-target bycatch. This report argues that efficiency gains can be made by managing behavior through pricing incentives at the margin

Sunflower Planting Date Trial

Sunflowers are being grown in the Northeast for their potential to add value to a diversified operation as fuel, feed, fertilizer, and an important rotational crop. However, pest pressures from seed-boring insects, disease, and birds can limit yield and quality, making the crop less viable for existing and potential growers. Addressing some of these pest pressures with agronomic management strategies may help mitigate yield losses. One cultural pest control strategy is manipulation of planting date. To evaluate the impacts of altered planting dates on sunflower pests, an on-farm trial was designed and implemented by the University of Vermont Extension’s Northwest Crops & Soils Program in 2014

Angler Response to Success in the California Salmon Sportfishery: Evidence and Management Implications

This paper examines effort responsiveness to success in the California salmon partyboat sport fishery. The management process in this important fishery involves setting target harvest levels for both commercial and sportfishing groups and then using closed seasons, restricted gear, and possession limits to dampen effective effort. An important component of the management process involves forecasting sportfishing effort and its effect on catch in order to advance-plan management actions. For want of better information, simple proportionality rules-of-thumb are used currently and this paper examines the plausibility of these. Some simple models forecasting aggregate angler participation and aggregate partyboat catch on a weekly basis are estimated across several different ports. Our findings suggest that anglers are responsive to recent success in several sports (elasticities up to + .5) and that angler participation affects catch with an elasticity exceeding unity. These results indicate that the simple rules of thumb currently in use could be in substantial error.Environmental Economics and Policy, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

FISHRENT; Bio-economic simulation and optimisation model

Key findings: The FISHRENT model is a major step forward in bio-economic model-ling, combining features that have not been fully integrated in earlier models: 1- Incorporation of any number of species (or stock) and/or fleets 2- Integration of simulation and optimisation over a period of 25 years 3- Integration of effort and TAC-driven management policies 4- Three independent relations for stock growth, production and investments. The feedbacks within the model allow for a dynamic simulation. The main application of the model is scenario analysis of policy options. Complementary findings: The model formulates a complete set of mathematical relations, but it also con-tains a number of important assumptions, which remain to be tested empirically. Therefore the model presents a challenging agenda for empirical research, which should lead to further qualitative and quantitative improvements of the in-dividual mathematical equations and parameter values. Method: This model was developed during the EU-funded project 'Remuneration of spawning stock biomass'. Its aim was to generate consistent sets of scenarios for an assessment of potential resource rents in different EU fisheries. The model comprises six modules, each focussing on a different aspect of the functioning of the fisheries system: biology (stocks), economy (costs, earnings and profits), policy (TACs, effort and access fees), behaviour (investments), prices (fish and fuel) and an interface linking the modules together. Input, calculation and output are clearly separated. The model produces a standard set of graphics, which provide a quick insight into the results of any model run. All output of the model runs can be exported to database software for further analysis. The model has been built in Excel, which makes it accessible for most us-ers. It has been used in new applications and even translated to other software. The model is continually further developed

Bio-Economies of Scope and the Discard Problem in Mulitple Species Fisheries

This paper considers the problem of multi-species fisheries management when targeting individual species is costly and at-sea discards of fish by fishermen are unobserved by the regulator. Stock conditions, ecosystem interaction, technological specification, and relative prices under which at sea discards are acute are identified. A dynamic model is developed to balance ecological interdependencies among multiple fish species, and scope economies implicit in a costly targeting technology. Three regulatory regimes, species-specific harvest quotas, landing taxes, and revenue quotas, are contrasted against a hypothetical sole owner problem. An optimal plan under all regimes precludes discarding. For both very low and very high levels of targeting costs, first best welfare is close to that achieved through any of the regulatory regimes. In general, however, landing taxes welfare dominate species-specific quota regulation; a revenue quota fares the worst.scope economies; multiple species fishery management; costly targeting; discarding

Low recruitment 3M Cod Operating Model.

This paper presents the results of F = 0 and the slope and target Harvest Control Rules (HCRs) for a selection of Operating Models (OMs) of 3M Cod with the Low Recruitment regime. The results of these scenarios show that if the current low level of recruitment continues for 2 or 3 more years, the risk of the SSB falling below Blim in the short to medium term is greater than 50% in all scenarios, including those with F=0. Another conclusion that can be drawn from these results is that the current target HCR needs to be improved by investigating more deeply the values of the different parameters of this HCR

Endogenous fisheries management in a stochastic model: Why do fishery agencies use TAC

The aim of this paper is to explain under which circumstances using TACs as instrument to manage a fishery along with fishing periods may be interesting from a regulatory point of view. In order to do this, the deterministic analysis of Homans and Wilen (1997)and Anderson (2000) is extended to a stochastic scenario where the resource cannot be measured accurately. The resulting endogenous stochastic model is numerically solved for finding the optimal control rules in the Iberian sardine stock. Three relevant conclusions can be highligted from simulations. First, the higher the uncertainty about the state of the stock is, the lower the probability of closing the fishery is. Second, the use of TACs as management instrument in fisheries already regulated with fishing periods leads to: i) An increase of the optimal season length and harvests, especially for medium and high number of licences, ii) An improvement of the biological and economic variables when the size of the fleet is large; and iii) Eliminate the extinction risk for the resource. And third, the regulator would rather select the number of licences and do not restrict the season length.TAC, season lengths, fisheries management, stock uncertainty

Vessel-level productivity in Commonwealth fisheries

The total factor productivity of the Commonwealth Trawl Sector of the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery is estimated for the period 1996–97 to 2008–09 using vessel-level data and a traditional approach that captures the production decisions of fishers. The paper develops a replicable methodology and calculates benchmark productivity estimates by which future estimates for other Commonwealth fisheries can be evaluated. Productivity estimates presented in this paper are based on vessel-level financial and catch data collected by ABARES in its annual survey of the fishery and the application of the Fisher index method. The analysis of trends in productivity offers important new information to decision-makers. Changes in the way in which fishers organise the transformation of inputs into outputs have a direct impact on firm-level economic performance. Changes in productivity at the vessel level illustrate the response of the fleet to policy settings in the fishery and, more broadly, to environmental factors. This is of particular value for fishery managers when they consider policy instruments—such as fish stocks, technology and fleet structure—that might affect the drivers of productivity growth in fisheries.Agribusiness, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Managing the Gulf of Papua Prawn Fishery: Sustainability, Maximum Returns and Cooperation between Commercial Fishing and Indigenous Fishing Communities

In many fisheries around the world, harvesting capacity is excessive and fish stocks are under threat. The Gulf of Papua prawn fishery (GPPF) presents a different set of management challenges. Limited property rights and fishing capacity, along with tension between a commercial fleet and indigenous fishing communities over access, have resulted in a relatively underdeveloped resource, conflict and considerable losses in economic returns. This article details the results of a joint project between the National Fisheries Authority (NFA) in Papua New Guinea and supporting Australian institutions on the management of the GPPF. The analysis indicates a catch target that maximises sustainable returns at biomass levels larger than biomass at maximum sustainable yield, thus protecting the resource, and a simple plan to share access to the inshore fishery. Both strategies are being implemented by the NFA. Together, they present one of the few very good examples of how to 'get things right' in the use and management of a fisheries resource, providing 'win-win' outcomes for Papua New Guinea