International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade
Abstract
Studies on compliance with fishing regulations have looked at fishery crimes for which the offender faces a one-period
decision problem of maximizing an expected utility. Moreover, the returns to the crimes are uncertain
because the offender may lose them if caught. This paper extends these models by considering a fishery crime that
generates flow of returns until the offender is caught and then punished. Consequently we incorporate into the
existing model, the influence of dynamic deterrence in which the discount rate affects violation levels. The
predictions of the model are tested on data from an artisanal fishery in Ghana