Optimal selectivity and effort cost: A simple bioeconomic model with an application to the Bay of Biscay Nephrops fishery

Claire Macher (1, 2) , Jean Boncoeur (1)

1 AMURE - Aménagement des Usages des Ressources et des Espaces marins et littoraux - Centre de droit et d'économie de la mer
2 EM - Unité d'Economie Maritime

This article investigates the relationship between optimal gear selectivity and effort cost in the fishing industry We first show that optimal selectivity depends negatively on the level of effort cost, but that this relationship is not continuous. Optimal selectivity switches when real effort cost goes beyond a certain level, and this switch induces a non-marginal reduction in the level of fishing effort. In the second part of this article, we shoot, that the current level of real effort cost in the Nephrops fishery of the Bay of Biscay is far below the switch point, which makes high selectivity optimal. The discrepancy between optimal and current selectivity may be explained by the state of the fishery management and also by the fact that selectivity is hardly observable with the type of gear presently used.

Mots clés: Selectivity; effort; technical measure; management tradeoff; Nephrops fishery; Bay of Biscay; bio-economic model; social and private benefits and costs; fuel costs

Domaines: Economies et finances

Claire Macher, Jean Boncoeur. Optimal selectivity and effort cost: A simple bioeconomic model with an application to the Bay of Biscay Nephrops fishery. Marine Resource Economics, 2010, 25 (2), pp.213-232. ⟨hal-00511667⟩