Lian, Carl; Singh, Rajesh; Weninger, Quinn

WP #08008, March 2008

This paper characterizes anticipated changes in fleet structure, individual vessel harvesting activity, and economic performance in the pacific coast groundfish fishery under an individual fishing quota management program. Results suggest that the current fleet which consists of 117 vessels will be reduced by roughly 50% - 66% to 40-60 boats. This will result in fleetwide annual costs savings in the range of $18 - $22 million (based on the price and cost estimates of year 2004). However, these savings could shrink significantly if restrictions on quota trading across vessels are incorporated into the program design. Alternative modes of taxing fishing revenues to fund program administration and their impact on fleet size and total fishery value under quota management is also studied. We conclude that individual fishing quotas can be an attractive alternative for pacific coast groundfish.