Intrinsic Fish Characteristics and Intraseason Production Efficiency: A Management-Level Bioeconomic Analysis of a Commercial Fishery

Biological changes in Pacific whiting (Merluccius productus) and corresponding production yields were used to model a vertically integrated fishery from harvest through processing. The seasonal bioeconomic programming model incorporated stock dynamics with the interactive economic effects of intrinsic fish quality, the harvest schedule, and quota allocation between heterogeneous user groups. The optimal management plan would maximize discounted net industry revenues (NPV) given a minimum spawning biomass. NPV was maximized when the intraseason timing of harvest coincided with the seasonal improvement in fish quality (e.g., following spawning and/or migration). NPV was only marginally affected, however, by the quota allocation between groups. Copyright 1999, Oxford University Press.