Fisheries Economics and Management
Credit Value
3 credits
Schedule
Not offered in 2023/24
Description
The course covers the bioeconomic theory of fisheries, game-theoretic approaches to the management of shared resources, and topical issues in fisheries economics and management.
The course begins with a discussion of environmental and natural resource economics and how fisheries economics fits into the general picture. This is followed by a discussion of the theory underlying fisheries economics. Bioeconomic theory of fisheries will be presented using simple models. These models will be used to introduce fundamental economic results, such as the importance of cost relationships and the consequences of open access. Fisheries regulations will be an integral part of the course. Regulatory regimes such as taxes, quotas (including ITQs) and marine protected areas will be discussed.
Most fish stocks are shared between two or more countries. Moreover, some stocks straddle into the high seas, where they are subject to exploitation by many nations. The game theory part of this course will introduce methods for analyzing strategic choices among agents who share a common fish stock. The most relevant setting is where a number of countries share fish stocks that migrate between the exclusive economic zones of the countries. This approach could also be relevant where a number of firms have exclusive access to a common stock within a country. Straddling fish stocks, exploited by coastal states as well as distant water fishing nations, will also be discussed.
Four currently topical issues will be discussed here, namely, (i) fisheries subsidies: types, magnitude, and impacts on resource sustainability; (ii) illegal, unreported, unregulated (IUU) fishing: scope, magnitude, stock sustainability effects and the economic incentives facing IUU fishers; (iii) global fish values: magnitudes and trends; and (iv) economics of fish stock rebuilding and discounting.
Course Instructor
Dr Rashid Sumaila