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This paper investigates the degree of market integration between several product forms of US wild salmon and Norwegian farmed salmon. While several studies have investigated the link between farmed salmon and fresh and/or frozen wild salmon markets, we expand the literature with the inclusion of the products canned salmon and salmon roe. Understanding how canned salmon and salmon roe are related to the broader salmon market is of importance to US fisheries, as these products are high-price exports for the United States. Our results find evidence of cointegration between the Norwegian farmed salmon market and all US salmon products. Domestic and international economic conditions, such as production technological advances within farmed salmon production, environmental challenges, and changes in trade regulations, which affect the market for farmed salmon, will hence also influence US prices of frozen and canned salmon, as well as salmon roe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The American Fisheries Act (AFA) of 1998 significantly altered the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands pollock fishery by allowing the formation of harvesting and processing cooperatives and defining exclusive fishing rights. This paper uses data envelopment analysis and stochastic production frontier models to examine effects of the AFA on the fishing capacity, technical harvesting efficiency (TE), and capacity utilization (CU) of pollock catcher-processors. Results from multi-input, multi-output models indicate that fishing capacity fell by more than 30% and that harvesting TE and CU measures increased relative to past years. This work provides examples of how existing data, which is currently devoid of operator costs and provides only general indicators of earnings, may be used to analyze changes in elements of fleet and vessel performance in response to management actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aquaculture is a controversial issue in the U.S.A., and to what extent U.S. aquaculture stakeholders support its expansion determines the future of this industry. This paper compares the perceptional differences of aquaculture stakeholders in the U.S.A. and Norway, and investigates how their perceptions influence their decisions to support aquaculture development. Original data were collected from an online survey of key aquaculture stakeholders and experts in both countries. Based on multinomial logit models, all of the perception variables contribute significantly to the likelihood that an aquaculture stakeholder is willing to support aquaculture expansion. These findings provide useful information for U.S. and Norwegian aquaculture policymakers, regulators, and stakeholders regarding how perceptions influence decisions; the key perceptional differences between the U.S.A. and Norway; and how policies, practices, and education could change perceptions of aquaculture stakeholders and thereby the future of U.S. and Norwegian aquaculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the competition between domestic catfish fillets and imported tilapia fillets in the US market. The market segmentation between fresh and frozen fillets of both species is also considered. The substitutability between catfish and tilapia is of interest because market reports have recently suggested that the rapid increase in tilapia imports in the last few years is the result of tilapia taking market share from domestically produced catfish. The competition between fresh and frozen fillets of catfish and tilapia imports in the same market is examined using market integration and demand analysis. The results indicate that imports of fresh and frozen tilapia fillets lie in different market segments, while fresh and frozen catfish fillets compete in the same market. Furthermore, fresh and frozen fillets of catfish and tilapia imports do not compete in the same market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper chronicles rent-seeking in the U.S. Atlantic sea scallop fishery, including its influence on property rights formation. Decades of lobbying by the U.S. fishing industry against foreign fishing and seafood imports caused Congress to extend federal jurisdiction to 200 miles in 1977. Scallop fishermen initially earned high profits for their efforts, but by about 1990 the overcapitalized fishery was surviving on new year classes. Limited access and a stock rebuilding program were introduced in 1994, but an asymmetric distribution of potential gains in favor of relatively few, multi-permit companies has preoccupied public debate on the transferability and consolidation of fishing rights. Rent-seeking by the limited-access permit holders is now also focused on claims by the growing open-access sector of the scallop fishery, groundfish bycatch limitations, and gear-induced habitat damage, which has drawn lawsuits from environmental organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United States Congress recently passed a law that creates an alternative to individual transferable quota (ITQ) management. The American Fisheries Act promises the ability to rationalize one of the world's largest fisheries, the North Pacific pollock fishery, without the overt appearance of allocating permanent property rights to a public resource. The Act enabled pollock fishers to form cooperative bargaining units that are guaranteed a fixed share of the total allowable catch (TAC) providing they deliver to historic processors. This paper explores the evolution of that policy change and the innovative use of fishery cooperatives to advance voluntary decapitalization and rationalization that Congress intended to benefit both vessels and processors. Game theory offers insights into the likelihood of achieving congressional intent. It is argued that while the Act is Pareto improving, it may violate the legislative intent of win-win rationalization and may introduce a market failure while attempting to rid the fishery of the open-access externality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experimental fishing vessel buyout program was initiated in 1995 to remove vessels from the Northeast United States groundfish fishery. Information provided by the applicants to this program was used to evaluate the likely participation and potential cost of an expanded buyout initiative. This paper describes the pilot buyout program and the econometric procedures used to forecast participation and bids at various levels of program spending. Program participation and bid levels were modeled in two stages using participation and bid functions. The expanded buyout program, completed in April 1998, provided a unique opportunity to evaluate initial participation and cost forecasts. Methods used in this study are also applicable to modeling other fishery related economic decisions, such as the trading of individual transferable quota shares. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Random utility models rely on the properties of the logistic distribution for ease of estimation, but this distribution implies the independence of irrelevant alternatives (IIA). The random parameters logit model offers a means of avoiding the IIA assumption as well as greater heterogeneity among agents, recreational anglers or beachgoers in the current application. A problem often encountered in the estimation of random utility models with many alternatives is the necessity of sampling alternatives or otherwise reducing the number of choices. Research has shown that in the random utility model, such changes in choice set still lead to consistent parameter estimates. However, with the random parameters logit, there is greater need to sample but no theoretical evidence that sampling is justified. In this paper we show the impact of sampling in a random parameters logit model. We find that sampling does not appear to change the parameter estimates substantially. We investigate two data sets: a study of beach use in the Chesapeake Bay and a study of marine recreational angling behavior for the Northeast of the U.S. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we estimate the economic value associated with marine recreational fishing in the southeast United States using the random utility model. The data used is the Southeast (North Carolina to Louisiana) Marine Recreational Fishery Statistics Survey (SE MRFSS). The geographic extent of the market and potential catch are used to determine the effect of choice set definition on random utility model parameter and welfare estimates. We find that choice sets based on distance or catch do not lead to large differences in the compensating variation of a fishing trip. Defining choice sets based on catch does lead to insignificant estimates of the effect of one measure of site quality on site selection. We also find differences in the value of an additional fish when comparing alternative measures of site quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper a bioeconomic simulation of the U.S. fisheries for silver hake, Merluccius bilinearis, is presented. The model design combines elements of age-structured population and harvest yield models with economics of the silver hake fishery. The analysis evaluates both biological and economic effects of interest to managers, such as future yields or rebuilding of parental stock, as well as future revenues and net returns to vessels. The bioeconomic model is used to evaluate the economic implications of tradeoffs between alternative selection patterns in the U.S. Atlantic silver hake fishery. Throughout the study, a selection pattern is defined as the suite of age-specific selection coefficients that are applied to a fish population over time. The results indicate that shifting fishing pressure to younger age classes could result in short-run gains in economic value that may not be sustainable due to longer run declines in biomass, hence lowered fishery yield and value. By contrast, strategies to delay age at first capture may improve economic value over current levels with only modest reductions in short-run fishery yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to test for price linkages among European (France, Germany, and U.K.) and U.S. prices of whole fresh cod and frozen cod fillets. In testing for a cointegrated system, we use both the two-stage Engle-Granger and Johansen procedures. Short-run price dynamics are measured using an error-correction model. Based on monthly import price observations from 1980 to 1992, the empirical results show no long-run price relationships for fresh cod between European and U.S. markets, but we do measure long-run price linkages for frozen cod fillets. Within Europe the markets for both fresh and frozen cod product are well integrated. The U.S. fresh cod market is distinct and separate from European markets, while the U.S. frozen cod market shows no short-run links to European markets. There is weak evidence for a long-run international market in frozen cod fillets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The individual transferable quota (ITQ) system for wreckfish (Polyprion americanus) in the south Atlantic will be an important test of the practical merits of individual quota management for finfish fisheries in the United States. This paper describes the wreckfish ITQ program in detail and discusses difficulties encountered in its development. Beyond providing information on the practical constraints of setting up ITQs to managers contemplating ITQs for other fisheries, another goal is to evaluate the degree to which the wreckfish ITQ program is accomplishing its resource conservation, economic, and conflict reduction objectives. Analysis of data and experiences over the one and one-half year period during which the wreckfish ITQ has been in place are provided. Linked to the discussion of accomplishing objectives is an evaluation of the degree that consolidation has taken place and the tradeoff between efficiency goals and concerns over monopoly power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Commercial fishers are constantly exposed to many risk factors, making it a dangerous occupation. Fisheries management that limits access and catches can give rise to well-known stock and rule-of-capture externalities known as the "race to fish." This market failure dissipates rents and can lead fishers to take on additional risks such as fishing in poor weather, overloading vessels, or delaying maintenance to outcompete others. Rights-based management is expected to reduce the incentives to take on additional risk. Using a large dataset of fishers from around the United States, we empirically estimate the effects of individual fishing quota (IFQ) programs on one important risk factor: the decision to fish in poor weather. We find that risk-taking behavior generally decreases under IFQs, but the magnitude of the shift differs by fishery, and we explore potential drivers of these differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumers often resist trying novel foods such as seaweed even though their cultivation can provide substantial benefits to the environment. Therefore, research in consumer acceptance is needed before launching a novel food product in the market. We conduct a framed field experiment with adult consumers to investigate US consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for three seaweed products: seaweed salad, kelp noodles, and a seaweed snack. The results suggest that there is a potential market for seaweed food products in the United States, as 35% of participants chose to purchase at least one seaweed product. Demographic variables matter in consumers' choices. For instance, we find a negative WTP premium for female shoppers and primary household shoppers and a positive WTP premium for individuals who had a higher level of education and who were interested in improving the healthfulness of their diets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the development of fisheries regulation in the U.S. from 2005 to 2010. Consequence of open access in fisheries in the country; Characteristics of the present paradigm for fisheries management; Significance of the present paradigm to the industry.

An approach that combines seasonality removal with a multivariate, state-space, time series forecasting model is developed to provide short-run forecasts for the US salmon market. Time series included in the model are: US fresh Atlantic salmon wholesale price index; fresh salmon (Atlantic, coho and Chinook) monthly US import quantities and prices; and US chum and sockeye salmon monthly export prices. Four versions of the state-space forecasting model are compared in terms of their statistical performance during out-of-sample forecasts. Out-of-sample 3-. 6- and 12-month ahead directional predictions are generated to test the models' performance in terms of direction. Under identical modeling conditions, out-of-sample statistical and directional tests indicate that deseasonalization improves the overall performance of the state-space model. As a result, a linear, deseasonalized, state-space forecasting model is selected to provide twelve monthly out-of-sample forecasts for all series. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some perspectives of neo-institutional economics are used to reexamine the common pool fishery. Applications of properly rights theory in models simulating the evolution of fisheries management suggest that even in the presence of positive information and transactions costs (ITCs), resource users may have incentives to sequentially negotiate rules of common pool use. Such a result might imply that fisheries managers should he more concerned with ITCs than inefficiencies due to overcapitalization. This impression is further reinforced in collective choice examples taken from U.S. fisheries management. These comparative cases of public decision making in New England and Alaska suggest that variations in the style of public management as well as other aspects such as fleet heterogeneity might cause variations in management effectiveness. These variations in effectiveness may be related to the ITC environment internal to the public agencies, as well as to the external ITC environment they face. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When estimating commercial fishing costs, selection bias can impact any model derived from non-census sampling methodologies. In the northeastern United States, commercial fishing operating cost models may suffer from selection bias, as they are often estimated using data collected for biological, rather than economic, purposes. We investigate the effects of sampling bias on trip cost model estimations using weighted/unweighted least squares and Heckman sample selection models. Results suggest that (1) the propensity for a trip to carry an observer is not random with respect to costs and that (2) selection bias exists in the majority of cost models investigated. To gauge the magnitude of selection bias, we compare results of the unweighted least squares and Heckman models. The differences between models can lead to erroneous conclusions at the subfleet level and in estimating trip cost maxima. Results suggest that assessing and correcting for selection bias is necessary when using sampled fishing cost data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

National-level empirical research can inform how policy can effectively support direct seafood markets. The US Department of Agriculture maintains a directory of farmers markets that has not been extensively used in direct seafood marketing research. I use this directory data to estimate the probability that farmers markets near commercial fishing ports in the United States offer seafood. The results provide insight into two policy-relevant constraints on direct marketing: (1) geographic limits to seafood sales at farmers markets and (2) accessibility challenges for low-income populations. I find that seafood sales at farmers markets are concentrated within 50 miles of commercial fishing ports and that lower-income people are less likely to have access to seafood at farmers markets. I discuss advances made in collecting data from direct marketing farmers and the potential value in collecting analogous data from direct marketing fishers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the US demand for shrimp differentiated by source including eight import sources (China, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Thailand, Vietnam, and rest of world [ROW]) and three domestic sources (Gulf of Mexico landings by size category). Due to endogeneity of import quantities and exogeneity of Gulf of Mexico landings, by size category, a mixed Rotterdam demand model was used to estimate the elevenequation demand system. Results associated with the import component of the model appear satisfactory, with negative own-price elasticities and positive cross-price elasticities (implying substitutability among import sources). Many of the cross-price elasticities, however, were small. A 1% change in all import prices was found to result in a 0.98% change in the Gulf of Mexico dockside price; an expected result given the large share of total US shrimp supply represented by imports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tradable harvest rights are gradually replacing prescriptive regulations in the management of commercial fisheries. We provide evidence that this management strategy can also successfully achieve non-commercial marine conservation goals, such as limiting unintended catch (bycatch) of protected species. We examine fishers' responses to the introduction of tradable harvest rights for protected species, 'bycatch rights,' in the US West Coast groundfish fishery, finding evidence of adjustment along several margins and estimating the marginal cost of conservation. Fishers adapted to bycatch rights by changing fishing location, gear, time of day fished, and duration of fishing activity. As a result, catches of protected species fell dramatically. The nuanced nature of fishers' responses indicates that the least-cost way of achieving conservation goals can involve fine-tuned behavioral adaptations that would be difficult or impossible to achieve with command-and-control regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Commercial fishing is generally hazardous, but some types of commercial fishing are more dangerous than others. Since much of the fishing industry is composed of small family-owned businesses, commercial fishermen often have to rely on the private health insurance markets. Do commercial fishermen working in more dangerous areas or with more dangerous gear mitigate their risk by purchasing health insurance? I examine the relationship between the economics of the North Carolina commercial fishing fleet and private market health insurance purchases in the two years immediately preceding the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010. Establishing this baseline is important, as the slow implementation of the Act's expanded coverage will take time to make meaningful impacts on commercial fishing fleets. I close by considering which aspects of commercial fishing might be most affected by the ACA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction of property rights to manage common-pool resources is often met with opposition from some incumbent users, despite evidence of large aggregate increases in resource rent. We introduce an analytical model with firm heterogeneity to distinguish between traditional resource rent, which accrues to all owners, and inframarginal rent, which accrues to those with high skill. We show that, in the presence of skill heterogeneity, some current users (namely those with the highest skill) may prefer common-pool man- agement, despite large aggregate increases in rents due to rationalization. Whether the transition to property rights is Pareto improving hinges critically on the initial allocation of rights, because inframarginal rents may be lower under property rights than limited entry. In our application to an important US fishery, property rights generate a ten-fold increase in market capitalization and a doubling in the present value of the resource, but without substantial free grandfathering, the top harvesters would rationally oppose the transi- tion to property rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the process whereby fishing capital accumulates and excess capacity emerges, particularly in fisheries where incentives for race to fish and race to invest are present, and where capital is not perfectly malleable, remains an important topic. We develop a dynamic model, incorporating quasi-malleable capital, race to fish and invest behaviors and myopic expectations, in which the level of excess capacity is endogenously determined. We show the importance of capital malleability, and of other biological and economic conditions, in determining the existence and strength of persistent equilibrium excess capacity in the fishery. We also highlight a link between the state of the fishery at the time race behavior emerges and the resultant level of excess capacity. Our results have implications for both the management of excess capacity and the use of empirical measures of excess capacity as performance indicators in fisheries where race behaviors are present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wreckfish individual transferable quota (ITQ) program started in 1992 and is the oldest finfish ITQ program in the United States. Initially, the program appeared to be a success, bringing order to the previous years' derbies. Ex-vessel prices rose, harvest stabilized, and there was an orderly shrinking of the fleet to an economically appropriate size. The subsequent history of the fishery is more complex. ITQ sales dwindled in 1995, then ceased for 13 years. Harvest plummeted to barely a tenth of the eligible quota, and in 2010 the fleet's quota was reduced 88%. Was the wreckfish ITQ program a failure? We provide the first published analysis of the program in two decades. We examine the decisions of former participants to leave the fishery. We also examine the program's current economic, biological, and regulatory performance compared to the program's original stated goals and the goals associated with ITQs in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the extent of competition in the US salmon import market using a residual demand model. The estimated residual demand elasticity is coincident with the profit margin, which depends on market demand and competitors' supply as well as production cost. The estimation results reveal the following: (1) the forces driving the jointly dominant positions of Chilean and Canadian salmon exporters, (2) the suppliers' allocation decisions by product form, (3) the consequences of the antidumping order (AD) imposed on Chilean salmon, and (4) the impacts of the 2008 infectious salmon anemia (ISA) outbreak on Chilean exports, competitors' supply, and market demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perceptions and expectations are integral factors affecting decision making. However, aquaculture stakeholders(tm) perceptions and social attitudes have been largely neglected in aquaculture management and planning. We examine the relationship between US aquaculturists(tm) intended actions to expand production capacity abroad and factors influencing their decisions, including: perceptions of market conditions, regulatory climate, property rights, government leadership, comparative advantages, and demographic characteristics. Primary data were collected via an original survey. The results indicate that large-scale, non-shellfish marine aquaculturists without an advanced graduate degree are more likely to expand abroad. These aquaculturists tend to have high expectations about seafood demand and think that US permit and environmental regulations are strict; aquaculture leases should be transferable; and the United States has comparative advantages in skilled labor availability and access to domestic markets. If retaining aquaculture entrepreneurs and investors domestically is the policy target, recommendations are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uses weekly national store-level scanner data acquired from A.C. Nielsen Inc., to analyze demand for 14 unbreaded frozen seafood products in the United States (U.S.). While utilization of scanner data for food demand analyses has become increasingly popular in the U.S., just a few studies of seafood demand have utilized scanner data. We used a log linear version of the Paasche's index with lagged shares as the price index in an Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS) model and modified the intercept of a standard AIDS model to account for effects of the season and the lagged demand. Own-price, cross-price, and expenditure elasticities vary across species considerably, which highlights the importance of studying consumer demand behavior at disaggregated levels for seafood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A non-linear AIDS model was used to estimate substitution patterns across seafood categories at the US retail market level. Results indicate that demand for catfish, crawfish, clams, and salmon products is elastic, suggesting that consumers are sensitive to price changes. In contrast, demand for shrimp and tilapia, mostly imported products, is price inelastic. US consumers would "tolerate" an increase in tilapia price compared to other seafood categories, especially catfish. Tilapia and salmon are found to have the most negative effects on purchases of other seafood products. Catfish is a strong substitute for tilapia; while tilapia is not a strong one for catfish. Promotions play significant roles in seafood purchases, especially among import-dominant products like shrimp, tilapia, and salmon. Future research should first be conducted at the metropolitan level, highlighting market specificity implied by consumers' demographics; secondly, it should be done at disaggregated levels for each seafood category, product form, and product size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sea turtle bycatch by commercial shrimp trawlers has been a primary threat to the U.S. marine turtle population for decades. In 1987 the U.S. government passed a federal bycatch regulation that requires all shrimpers to use 'turtle excluder devices' (TEDs) while fishing in U.S. waters. This article develops a theoretical model that serves to distinctly identify three ways in which the regulation affects domestic supply: i) directly through escapement when TEDs are used, ii) indirectly by affecting the fishers' choice of avoidance activities, and iii) through an effect on the equilibrium market price. We then empirically estimate the model. The results indicate that, over the 1989-2003 period, the total estimated harvest loss for the industry from TEDs was approximately equal to 2.04%, which is considerably lower than industry claims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we estimate the recreational use value of household trips to view shorebirds during the annual horseshoe crab/shorebird migration on the Delaware Bay. We use contingent valuation to estimate the value of day and overnight trips separately and use a discrete choice question followed by a payment-card question to generate our valuation data. Our best estimates for the value of a day trip are about $66-$90/household and for an overnight trip about $200-$425/household (2008$). Our data are from the 2008 season, and our average household size is 1.66. For some context, estimates from four other studies report values that vary from $63/trip/person to $442/trip/person. These studies vary in method and specific birding populations studied and mix day and overnight trips. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On December 31, 2003 a coalition representing Southeast U.S.A. shrimp harvesters and processors filed a petition with the U.S. International Trade Administration and the U.S. International Trade Commission seeking relief in the form of antidumping duties from what the coalition perceived as unfair trade practices by six countries--China, Vietnam, India, Thailand, Ecuador, and Brazil. After an exhaustive investigation, an affirmative finding of dumping and injury was found, and duties were imposed on subject merchandise from these six countries. This study examines the factors that led to the petition being filed, the investigation process, and the outcome associated with the imposition of antidumping duties. Overall, the study concludes that while the duties resulted in a limited amount of trade deflection, particularly among those countries assessed with higher duties, much of the protective effect that might have been forthcoming from restricting imports from the six named countries was eroded by trade diversion to countries not included in the petition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The American lobster (Homarus americanus) fishery is currently the most valuable fishery on the Atlantic coasts of both the USA and Canada based on ex-vessel value. Lobster conservation policies have traditionally focused on technical restrictions such as minimum size requirements, v-notching, and a prohibition on taking egg-bearing females to protect the resource, rather than direct controls on fishing effort or catch. However, in 2005 the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission adopted a plan for the southern New England lobster management area (Area 2) that establishes a structure for limiting the number of license holders and the number of traps each lobsterman can have in the water. In this article, a bio-economic modeling exercise is employed to examine the biological and economic impacts of reductions to the level of fishing effort in a fishery that is modeled to represent the full-time lobster fishing fleet in Area 2. Model results show that a reduction in fishing effort has the potential to: (i) improve the sustainability characteristics of the lobster resource and, in contrast to popular belief, (ii) actually stimulate economic growth in the coastal economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article evaluates the various uses of fishing capacity analysis in commercial fisheries managed by the U.S. government based on the lessons learned by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The use of capacity analysis includes estimating the levels of fishing capacity and overcapacity. The primary lesson learned is that the capacity of a fishing fleet is similar to the capacity of a room. Another lesson learned is that a variety of methods can be used to determine overcapacity.

The purpose of this research is to assess any risk-shifting behavior in the catfish market between processors and farmers. Over 93% of farm-raised catfish are sold through fish processing companies, and processors largely dictate the terms of trade, particularly size requirements. The classic agency theory model was used to investigate the relationship between catfish processors (principals) and catfish farmers (agents). The study used time-series regression techniques, incorporated into the classic principal-agent model, to examine the risk behavior of catfish processors. Results indicate that catfish processors do not shift risk, but bear all market risk. It appears that catfish processors maximize expected payoff by paying lower price to farmers and extract trade gains from bearing the market risks. Farmers may implicitly be paying high premiums by receiving lower prices. Delivery rights offered to catfish farmers as incentives for them to meet certain delivery conditions do not appear to have shifted risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Current Rent Method II (CRMII) of environmental accounting was used to estimate resource rent and the asset value of resource biomass in the U.S. Atlantic sea scallop fishery during 1977-2002. High levels of producer surplus and profit masked negative asset values for about two decades, as low as -$100 million a year during 1989-91 after many years of resource depletion and degradation by the overcapitalized fishery. Regulatory policies implemented in 1994 involving limited entry, vessel effort quotas, and area closures fostered stock recovery and greatly improved resource accounts to where the value of the sea scallop asset has recently averaged $128 million. Despite these recent improvements, there is no evidence that asset value is growing at any benchmark interest rate. The importance of adjusting fishery resource accounts for inframarginal rent as well (as the value of vessel capital) is discussed, as are property rights to the resource income component of so-called "producer" surplus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on sustainable fisheries management in the U.S. in the 21st century. Information on a report released by the Pew Oceans Commission in 2003 on the status of living marine resources, and the preliminary assessment report released by the U.S. Commission on Ocean policy in 2004 on living and nonliving marine resources in the country; Status of fisheries in the country as of 2005; Comparison of the reports released by both commissions.

We analyze demand substitution relationships among fish in the snapper/grouper complex in the southeast United States. Monthly data from 1977 to 1992 are used to form a set of six fish aggregates. The dockside demands are analyzed in an empirical inverse demand system, developed for the purposes of this study. Attention is paid to consistency of the system with the theory of demand, to functional form flexibility, and to consistent estimation of parameters. Empirical results imply that the demands have small quantity elasticities, which can be thought of as high price elasticities in a direct demand system. Regulatory variations in landed quantities have little measured effect on prices, implying that market prices are good per-unit measures of the welfare costs of catch restrictions to consumers. Welfare estimates of hypothetical harvest reductions are computed and illustrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The American Fisheries Act establishes procedures under which a group of vessels and a processing plant can form a coop, the main purpose of which is to establish a rights-based regulation program that will protect the interests of both parties. The core principles for coop formation are specified, and operating procedures which must be followed in order to obtain maximum efficiency gains are derived. How the efficiency gains are split among coop members by the choice of the ex-vessel price is demonstrated. In certain circumstances, a vessel and its harvest rights may switch coops. The effects of these shifts on efficiency are analyzed in a way that separates the effects of the vessel shift and of the transfer of production, and that specifies the conditions under which there will be net efficiency gains. Finally, it is demonstrated that the quasi-rents of all members of both coops are affected by a vessel switch. This provides a reference for understanding when a vessel will agree to a shift and the incentives for others to take action to support or oppose the shift. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Muth's model is adapted to determine the effects of generic advertising on upstream factor markets in a competitive industry where funds for promotion are raised through a feed tax. Optimality conditions indicate that a feed tax is an inferior funding mechanism. That is, the resulting promotion budget, in general, is too small to maximize producer surplus at the farm level. Applying the model to the U.S. catfish industry, results suggest that raising the feed tax from $5 to $6 per ton is welfare increasing for farm, feed, and non-feed sectors alike. Distributional analysis suggests that the processing sector captures most of the long-term benefits (51%), followed by the non-feed sector (42%). Despite the feed sector's modest share of total benefits (7%), owing to tax shifting its long-run benefit-cost ratio (1.8:1) is favorable. Because feed and non-feed inputs are gross substitutes, the feed tax generates a positive externality for non-feed suppliers. Accounting for this externality raises the non-feed sector's net benefit by 36%. Overall, about one-half of the program's long-term net benefits accrue to input suppliers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on the Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistics Survey (MRFSS) of the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service. Fishing data included in the survey; Survey components of the MRFSS; Web sites about the survey.

Discusses the New England groundfish management system under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act in the U.S. Significance of the New England groundfish fishery for the coastal communities in the Northeast region; Details of the New England groundfish fishery management plan under the Act; Information on the economic assistance programs initiated by the U.S. Department of Commerce for the fishing sector.

The adoption of aquacultural products has created an imbalance of market power between catfish producers and a processing sector that exerts a monopsonistic power in certain regions of the U.S. such as west Alabama. However, because of the recent changes caused by vertical integration of the catfish industry, the existence of an oligopolistic power has been identified in the catfish industry. An empirical model of pricing in the catfish industry was developed using a theoretical model proposed by Appelbaum. An analysis of the market structure was conducted to provide estimates of conjectural elasticities over time. Conjectural elasticities were used to construct the oligopoly power index. Results show some evidence of the existence of oligopolistic power in the catfish industry that further suggests some degree of price enhancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A consumer survey of the northeastern United States was conducted to gather market information regarding the decision to purchase fresh hybrid striped bass, trout and salmon. Logit techniques were used to model the experience, perceptions, preferences, and choices of consumers for seafood products based on a modified evoked set framework. Factors such as knowledge that the products are farm-raised, having previous experience with purchasing seafood along with the perception that seafood is healthful with good taste were found to significantly influence the consumer's decision to purchase these finfish products. The results of this study and the techniques used allow market researchers to objectively quantify the impact of experience, perceptions, and preferences of products on the ultimate decision of the consumer to purchase fresh hybrid striped bass, trout and salmon products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent changes in the U.S. liability regime for oil pollution damage are precipitating a potential insurance crisis for oil carriers operating in U.S. waters. While liability rules can be useful in causing the oil transport industry to internalize the costs of oil pollution, unlimited liability combined with uncertainty in damage valuation can result in great costs to society, including the possible disruption of oil supplies. We formulate a model to determine an optimal level of risk-sharing for oil pollution damage between the public and the foreign tanker industry, and show how a socially optimal limit to liability can be determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multiobjective bioeconomic policy model was developed for the United States Pacific whiting fishery. Pareto-optimal solutions for three policy objectives--rents, production, and female spawning biomass--were developed and analyzed using "hybrid" generating technique. Three policy instruments were considered: harvest quotas, fleet capacity limits, and allocation between shore-based and offshore fisheries. Results indicate that Pareto-optimal allocations to shore-based and at-sea industries wilt depend on the spatial and temporal characteristics of the stock and the assumptions regarding the harvesting and processing characteristics of each fleet. The analysis also suggests approaches for measuring opportunity costs associated with misidentifying "biological risk", and operationatizing the concept known as "optimum yield". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The costs of stocking salmonids in the Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan are estimated for 1985. Estimation procedures and costs per stocked and captured fish are presented. Fingerlings of a species were found in most cases to cost more per captured fish than yearlings. However chinook salmon fingerlings were least expensive at an average cost of only $0.35 per captured fish. Most expensive were brook yearlings and fingerlings at $12.67 and $10.14. respectively. While a full policy evaluation awaits additional research on species specific benefits, three tentative conclusions can be drawn for the Wisconsin fishery. First, the role of brook trout in the fishery should be reviewed. Second, despite difficulties with lake trout rehabilitation, the role of lake trout in the sport fishery is encouraging and may justify continued stocking. Finally, increased stocking of the popular chinook salmon may be justified if the recent problems of low capture-per-release rates can be solved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploration provides information that can change expectations on geologically similar but unexplored prospects. This is an external effect if the exploring firm does not own the property affected by the information. This external effect has been used to motivate changes in Federal regulations for energy exploration. A Bayesian decision framework is developed and applied to a Federal offshore teasing region to quantify this external effect. In a study area exceeding 20,000 square miles off (he South Eastern U.S. coast, the optimal private exploration sequence exceeds the uncompensated externality sequence by two prospects. After further adjusting for transfer payments, the social optimum requires the exploration of two additional prospects. Failure to conduct the privately optimum sequence leads to an expected loss of $51.85 million, about seven percent of the total value of the area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]