OPTIMAL NUMBER OF FISHING VESSELS FOR TAIWAN'S OFFSHORE FISHERIES: A COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT FLEET SIZE REDUCTION POLICIES

Abstract

This study compares the harvest capacity of Taiwan's offshore fishing fleet to sustainable yields of offshore fisheries and evaluates different legislative strategies designed to reduce the fishing fleet. Aggregate offshore fisheries' stock changes and harvest functions are specified and estimated. Results show that the stock has been declining since 1973. Based on dynamic simulations, this study shows that neither the program to restrict the building of new vessels nor a combination of this program with the vessel retirement and buy back program is sufficient to avoid the downward trend in harvests and the deteriorating state of stocks. While reducing fishing effort to the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) level might suffice as an initial vessel reduction measure, attaining MSY within 5 to 10 years seems preferable over a one-year approach. The long-run economic situation would be further improved by an additional reduction of fishing effort to the optimal yield (OY) level.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,