A Bioeconomic Analysis of Sequential Fisheries: Competition, Coexistence, and Optimal Harvest Allocation Between Inshore and Offshore Fleets

Abstract

A bioeconomic model is developed to determine optimal harvest allocation between "offshore" and "inshore" fleets exploiting a single fish stock in sequential fisheries. The socially optimal policy for maximizing total discounted rent is determined in terms of optimal escapement levels in each fishery. Whether exclusion or coexistence of the two fleets occurs under open access and under optimal management is found to depend primarily on inshore/offshore price and cost ratios, together with biological parameters related to the age structure of the fish stock. We discuss how fishery regulations, such as separate landings taxes imposed on each fleet, can be used to jointly optimize open-access exploitation in sequential fisheries.