Improved Fisheries Policy Through Economics

Successful management of fisheries requires not only the expertise of biologists to manage the fish but the expertise of economists and social scientists to manage people. This publication illustrates economic models and policies that can be applied to the effective economic management of fisheries, using concepts such as taxation and subsidies, property rights, gross and net willingness-to-pay, consumer surplus, use value, existence value, option value, travel cost, contingent valuation, and hedonic prices. Considering how the interests of fish and people overlap, this author argues that economists and social scientists need to be involved in developing and implementing fishery policies. Improved recreational policy requires surveys of anglers and boaters, which will translate, into numbers, the value these people place on fisheries. These data can help managers determine when, for example, a particular fishery risks becoming overfished.