Fishing Location decisions in the Chilean-Transzonal Jack Mackerel Fishery

This study examines factors conditioning the fishing location decisions of the Chilean fleet operating in the South-east Pacific straddling jack mackerel fishery, considering voyage data for the1987-2004 period. As from the early 1990s, this fleet began to move beyond the 200 nm zone, responding to changes in the spatial distribution of the species. It is thought that this change dynamics may have been intensified by the strong 1997-98 El Niño event. The return of distant water-fishing-nation’s fleets to this fishery, as from the year 2000, has increased interest in understanding effects related with this spatial change dynamics. This paper is an econometric analysis of the effect of environmental, regulatory, technological and economic factors on the fishing location decisions of the Chilean fleet working in this fishery. The possible influence of El Niño events on the spatial operations of this fleet is tested.