Necessary Components of Economic Surplus in Fisheries Economics

Abstract

There are four main types of economic surpluses that can be achieved when exploiting a fishery. They are rent to the productive nature of the fish stock, normal factor rents to inputs, consumer surplus, and what is called here, worker satisfaction bonus, WSB. The latter refers to nonmonetary benefits individuals can obtain from participating in commercial fishing and, to be complete, in other occupations as well. It is discussed frequently, but has never received any formal treatment in the literature. In this paper the logic behind WSB in the fishing industry is discussed and its implications on policy is shown. A detailed model is developed which can show how all of the components of economic surplus relate to one another and how they will vary at different levels of output.Key words: fisheries economics, economic surplus, worker satisfaction bonus, maximum economic yield