Social Costs of Keeping Pension Fishers in the Community: The Case of Japan

Abstract

In this paper, we estimated the costs and benefits of keeping pension fishers in the community. 34% of the 200 thousand fishers in Japan are over the age of 65. Since the fishers over 65 are pensioners, their fishery income is an additional source of livelihood. The average yearly income of coastal fishers is US$30,000, and the maximum amount of pension that fishers can receive is US$10,000. The benefits of continuing to fish for pension fishers are their fishery income, certain food supply for themselves, associated benefits of maintaining membership with fishery cooperatives, and their participation with the community. There is no loss, for their opportunity costs are zero, and they are not forced to work. The benefits to the community, on the other hand, can be identified as opportunity costs that might amount if they retire, such as the costs of day-care services provided for free for the elderly and some social security payments provided for the poor. The fishery sector pays additional costs, such as the maintenance costs of fishery infrastructures, hidden costs bared by stagnant fishery reform, and annoying paternalism. The fishing community could have adopted more efficient fishing gears if their total population in the community was 36% less than otherwise, that in turn could have brought additional income or time to remaining young fishers. We compared these costs and benefits and concluded that we will be better off by letting pension fishers fish since the benefits, US$1.909billion, overwhelm the costs, US$566million