Factors Affecting Capacity Utilisation in English Channel Fisheries

The harvesting capacity of the European fishing fleet far exceeds the reproductive potential of the resource base. As a result, most European Union fisheries are both biologically and economically over‐exploited. A series of fleet‐reduction policies have been introduced in order to bring the harvesting capacity in line with target output levels. However, the existence of unutilised capacity may reduce the effectiveness of these schemes as the remaining vessels may increase their individual capacity utilisation (CU), thus offsetting the effects of fleet reduction. In this paper, the effects of stock abundance, output prices, fuel prices and fleet size on the rate of capacity utilisation are examined for a range of UK fleet segments operating in the English Channel. Estimates of CU are derived using data envelopment analysis. Results indicate that the average beam trawl vessel, using existing physical inputs, could potentially increase its revenue by a further 50%, assuming current fish stock levels and unrestricted access to resources. The average gill net vessel could similarly increase its output by 43%, scallop dredge by 28% and otter trawl by 14%. The results suggest that changes in stock abundance are the main factor affecting CU, with no significant trends being observed for the economic variables.     

Implications of efficiency and productivity change over the season for setting MEY‐based trigger targets

The banana prawn component of Australia's Northern Prawn Fishery (NPF) is currently managed through the use of annually updated trigger catch rates as a means of achieving maximum economic yield (MEY) in the fishery, taking into account the estimated price and cost components for that season. The estimation of these target catch rates is based on the assumption of relative homogeneity of the fleet in terms of efficiency, productivity and cost structure. In this study, these assumptions are examined through the estimation of a stochastic production frontier. While technical efficiency varies between vessels, average efficiency is relatively constant over the fishing season. However, average productivity of the fleet increases, with smaller vessels (in terms of engine power) exiting the fishery earlier. This would likely increase the average cost of fishing towards the end of the season, with implications for setting the target catch rate. Based on a standard assumption as to the relationship between costs and vessel size, we find that the MEY target catch rates are most likely currently underestimated. However, the implementation of a precautionary minimum catch rate (which is above the MEY target catch rates for recent years) has maintained the fishery at a profitable level.     

Trends in the economic capacity of the Danish fishing fleet, 1996-2002

The Danish fishing industry has gone through a turbulent period of declining catches and modest economic performance. In order to address these concerns, capacity reduction initiatives, mainly through vessel decommissioning, have sought to relieve pressure on fish stocks and improve the profitability of fishing vessels that remain in the fishery. It is the main purpose of this paper to analyse the capacity utilization trends of the four main commercial fleet segments of trawlers, netters, Danish seiners and industrial (fish for reduction) vessels. Annual cost and earnings data (1996-2002) for fishing vessels of the various fleets are applied to three data envelopment analysis models, which evaluate capacity utilization in terms of catch volume, catch revenue and short-run profit. Results suggest that considerable cutbacks in fleet capacity are required, in the range of 30-50%, if full capacity utilization is to be achieved. A preliminary discussion with respect to the impact of fleet capacity reduction initiatives on fleet performance concludes the paper.     

海州湾单拖网渔船技术效率及其影响因素分析

在渔业资源衰退、渔船节能减排、渔业产业结构调整等多重压力下,短期内海洋捕捞业经济增长日趋困难。渔业技术效率是评价渔业经济增长质量的重要指标,界定其影响因素有助于促进资源优化配置,提高渔业经济增长水平。单拖网作业是中国近海一种重要捕捞方式,本文以海州湾70艘单拖网渔船为研究对象,利用DEA-Tobit模型,分析其技术效率及其影响因素。结果表明,仅有20.0%的海州湾单拖网渔船处于技术有效状态;渔船主机功率、渔船船体长度、渔船船龄以及燃油补贴对其技术效率的影响不显著;年出海天数、船长从业时间和年总成本对其技术效率有显著影响。     

青岛斋堂岛海域张网渔业经济效益分析

本文分析研究了2014年4月和10月青岛斋堂岛海域张网渔业的经济效益。结果表明:(1)张网渔业渔获物中不同种类价格差异极大,且多为低经济价值渔获种类。(2)4月甲壳类(三疣梭子蟹等)和软体类(短蛸)的捕获量决定了张网作业的经济效益;舒氏海龙、玉筋鱼等小型、低值种类的经济价值不足以弥补其上岸成本,可以适当增加网囊网目尺寸来释放这些低值渔获;(3)10月平均网产比4月高142.2%,但渔获上岸价格低于4月,导致10月张网作业经济效益为负值,处于投入大于产出的亏本状态。研究结果为选择性渔具的开发和张网渔业的"减船转产"提供了参考依据。     

Impacts of Vessel Capacity Reduction Programmes on Efficiency in Fisheries: the Case of Australia’s Multispecies Northern Prawn Fishery

Capacity reduction programmes, in the form of buybacks or decommissioning, have had relatively widespread application in fisheries in the US, Europe and Australia. A common criticism of such programmes is that they remove the least efficient vessels first, resulting in an increase in average efficiency of the remaining fleet, which tends to increase the effective fishing power of the remaining fleet. In this paper, the effects of a buyback programme on average technical efficiency in Australia’s Northern Prawn Fishery are examined using a multi‐output production function approach with an explicit inefficiency model. As expected, the results indicate that average efficiency of the remaining vessels was generally greater than that of the removed vessels. Further, there was some evidence of an increase in average scale efficiency in the fleet as the remaining vessels were closer, on average, to the optimal scale. Key factors affecting technical efficiency included company structure and the number of vessels fishing. In regard to fleet size, our model suggests positive externalities associated with more boats fishing at any point in time (due to information sharing and reduced search costs), but also negative externalities due to crowding, with the latter effect dominating the former. Hence, the buyback resulted in a net increase in the individual efficiency of the remaining vessels due to reduced crowding, as well as raising average efficiency through removal of less efficient vessels.     

渔船作业效率及政策研究

本文使用随机前沿生产模型研究了沿海某市渔船的作业效率,结果显示:抽样渔船的平均作业效率只有33%;渔船出海频率过高和性能落后是导致其效率低下的主要原因;船员工资的增加则提高了生产效率。为了提高渔船作业效率,建议采取以下措施:保持和增加资源存量,进一步降低捕捞强度,提高渔船的准入门槛、进行技术扶持、引入外部资金以及帮助渔民转产转业等。     

Profit and Price Effects of Multi‐species Individual Transferable Quotas

Regulators in many countries have adopted individual transferable quotas as a means of dealing with the open access problem inherent in fisheries. Using individual vessel data prior to and after the introduction of ITQs in Canada's multi‐species Scotia‐Fundy mobile gear fishery, the paper uses an index number profit decomposition to compare vessel performance over time and across individual vessels. The approach allows us to undertake both an ex post evaluation of short‐term impacts of ITQs and an ex ante evaluation of longer term impacts. With respect to short‐term impacts, the results suggest that larger vessels have benefited the most from the introduction of ITQs, but that all vessels have enjoyed increases in the prices received for those fish species that are included in the quota program. With respect to longer‐term impacts, the transferability provisions of the ITQ program have encouraged exit and more efficient operations to prevail.     

MATCHING FISHING CAPACITY TO THE CATCHES AVAILABLE: A PROBLEM IN RESOURCE ALLOCATION

Fish populations are examples of open-access renewable resources, and they are harvested by hunting. Fishery management is analogous to the management of the cropping of a wood, in which the trees are invisible, and keep moving around. Economic factors drive fishing fleets to a state of excess capacity and zero return to capital employed. Some form of regulation seems to be essential to enable a viable fishing industry which can regenerate its own capital to survive. The problems of management are exacerbated by excess capacity: it would be desirable if the size of the fishing fleet were matched to that required to catch the fish available. A novel method for estimating the size of fleet for which full-time fishing opportunities exist has been developed, but no mechanism exists to stimulate the development of the fleet towards that size. This, and the absence of a proper system of enforcement of internationally agreed quotas are the principal problems of fishery management.     

中国近海捕捞业技术效率影响因素分析——基于省级面板数据

基于我国沿海11个省份2008-2011年近海捕捞业投入产出数据,利用随机前沿分析方法研究了渔船"双控"政策、生产补贴、渔船吨位、近海污染等各种政策、技术与环境因素对我国近海捕捞业技术效率的影响。发现渔业生产保障能力和捕捞渔船纳入双控比例与技术效率正相关,户均补贴收入、捕捞渔船吨位、省域近海污染比例等与技术效率呈倒U型关系,农村人均收入与技术效率负相关。提出了切实消减过剩捕捞能力、严控近海污染、控制成本类补贴增长、完善近海捕捞业保障基础等政策建议。     

湛江海洋捕捞业的发展及面临的挑战

湛江地处祖国大陆最南端的雷州半岛,三面环海,海岸线占全国的8%以上,海洋渔业资源极其丰富,为湛江发展海洋捕捞业提供了良好的条件。论文从捕捞产量、渔船结构、劳动力结构、技术进步以及资金投入等方面介绍了湛江海洋捕捞业的发展现状,定量分析了捕捞量以及捕捞效率两个方面的影响因素。随着2004年中越北部湾渔业协定的生效,湛江海洋捕捞传统作业区域大大减少,捕捞能力过剩问题更加突出。同时,湛江海洋捕捞业还面临诸如捕捞基础设施不足、科技含量偏低、转产转业难度大等诸多问题,亟待在今后的发展过程中逐步完善。     

Conflicting uses of marine resources: can ITQs promote an efficient solution?*

This paper examines the allocation problem arising from conflicting demands for marine resource use by (i) commercial fishers, (ii) recreational fishers, and (iii) conservationists. It is shown that decentralised trading of individual transferable quotas (ITQs) is capable of an efficient allocation of resource use between the first two parties. In contrast, it is found that the standard ITQ system is not capable of performing the same ideal co‐ordination between the conflicting interests of extractive users, that is, all fishers, and the non‐extractive ones, that is, conservationists. The reason is that quota trades between individual fishers and conservationists are inevitably accompanied by (positive) externalities on both other fishers and conservationists. As a result, decentralised quota trades between these parties cannot be efficient. The fundamental economic observation is that quotas for conservation and for extraction constitute two different goods. It follows that a socially optimal market allocation of these two goods requires two prices instead of the single quota price in the standard ITQ system. Thus, to achieve efficiency, the ITQ system has to be extended to incorporate both types of goods. It is shown in the paper that if fishers and conservationists can organise themselves into groups, trades of conservation quotas between the two groups can in principle lead to fully efficient allocation. An interesting implication of this modified ITQ system is that the need for a fisheries authority to set the total allowable catch (TACs) disappears.     

Limited-Entry Licensing: Insights from a Duration Model

Limited entry is used to manage many fisheries. Effectiveness depends on a program's ability to control aggregate fishing power, which fleet size and composition both affect. This article analyzes fleet composition and attrition in a limited-entry fishery, the California red sea urchin fishery. It explores the dynamics of heterogeneity in catch and revenue and applies duration analysis to study individual fisherman attrition using both individual-level and time-varying covariates. The results show that the fleet is becoming more homogenous but also more potent and spatially mobile. Regulations such as size limits and season restrictions tend to increase attrition.     

我国沿海渔民转产转业面临的困难与对策

为应对近海渔业资源衰退及中日、中韩、中越渔业协定的实施给我国沿海渔区经济可持续发展及社会安定所带来的不利影响,我国渔业主管部门于2001年制定和实施了沿海捕捞渔民转产转业政策。沿海省(区)相继制定和实施了渔民转产转业的规划和政策,并取得了阶段性成效。但从总体上看,渔民转产转业的任务依然繁重,尤其是渔民转产转业过程中还存在一些困难和亟需解决的问题。加快渔民转产转业,必须加大政策扶持力度、调整产业结构、加强渔港经济区建设和严格执法管理等。     

印度洋金枪鱼渔业概况及中国金枪鱼船队发展对策分析

印度洋是世界上第二大金枪鱼产区,同时日益成为中国重要的金枪鱼作业渔场。基于印度洋金枪鱼委员会提供的数据,本文分析了印度洋金枪鱼渔业的发展概况及主捕鱼种的利用情况。同时,本文简要分析了中国金枪鱼船队在印度洋的发展概况,并对中国金枪鱼船队的发展前景作了简要探讨。加强渔业管理、完善渔业管理措施、加大研究投入等将是中国政府发展印度洋金枪鱼渔业的重要任务。     

海洋捕捞渔村经济社会现状的调查研究——以宁波海洋捕捞渔村为例

论文以宁波传统海洋捕捞渔村为调查对象,研究了我国东南沿海海洋渔村的经济社会现状.主要研究结果有：①调查样本中,1991～2012年间,2006～2010年渔船增长比例最高,占53％;②吨位200吨以上的渔船占总样本数的77.6％,渔船的平均功率为377马力;调查渔村的双拖网渔船占68％,单拖网渔船占32％,实际作业时间229～331天,作业渔场主要在外海渔场;③渔区劳动力市场具有以下特点,即来自内陆的渔业劳动力数量远大于本地劳动力、雇工工资逐年上涨、工薪结算方式多样化、年轻普通渔业劳动力主要来自内陆、渔民受教育水平偏低等;④宁波海洋捕捞渔民对海洋捕捞生产的依赖性有增强趋势;⑤海洋捕捞产业的经济效率在下降.提出的主要建议有：加强渔业管理与制度建设;加强对海洋捕捞渔业人力资源的教育投入、生存发展环境建设投入、渔村渔区社会建设的投入,实现海洋渔业的可持续发展;减少春夏季作业时间,延长休渔期有助于提高捕捞效率.     

我国渔港研究现状综述

渔港是渔民生产生活的重要场所,是渔船避风停泊的重要基地,在渔业生产管理、"平安渔业"建设、渔业水域环境保护以及渔区经济社会发展中发挥着重要作用。一直以来,学者们关于渔港建设等方面的探讨研究从未间断过,这些研究成果对于推进各地渔港建设和管理步伐,充分发挥渔港对渔区经济社会发展的辐射带动作用,促进渔业可持续健康发展有着不可忽视的作用。本文按时间分段对中国渔港研究现状进行了一次学术性梳理,指出我国渔港在20世纪70～80年代起步阶段、90年代发展阶段和21世纪以来的繁荣阶段的不同特点,以期对今后的渔港研究以及渔港建设起到一定的借鉴和促进意义。     

关于对渔获量实行总量控制的思考

对渔获量实行总量控制,是保障渔业可持续发展的需要。作者认为应通过严格执行捕捞许可制度、配额捕捞制度、鱼货统营制度等,对渔获量实行总量控制     

山东省渔港功能多元化发展现状评价

论文运用模糊数学方法,建立了评价模型,综合分析通过问卷调查和专家座谈等形式获取的资料,并采用专家打分法确定了评级模型所需的权重值,对山东省渔港多元化发展现状进行了研究。研究结果表明,山东省渔港功能多元化发展情况不理想,从渔业生产基础功能、二三产业拓展功能、渔区经济带动功能等三个一级指标看,评级为“一般”以下的隶属度均高于50％。同时,研究还表明,山东省渔港在渔区经济带动功能和渔业生产基础功能较强,二三产业的拓展功能较弱。     

蓝色经济区建设背景下青岛市海洋渔业发展策略分析

青岛市海洋渔业科技集群创新条件优越,产业基础良好,但面临近海捕捞资源衰退、可用海域空间缩小、环境污染威胁加剧等问题。随着青岛蓝色经济区建设的实施,为适应蓝色经济发展要求及促进青岛市渔业经济健康发展和渔业结构升级,需要综合考虑科技创新、环境保护、生态修复、空间布局等因素,明确新的战略环境中海洋渔业发展策略,推动区域海洋渔业可持续发展。