An evaluation of community protection measures in the Alaska halibut IFQ program
Date
2015
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
In individual fishing quota (IFQ) programs, fisheries managers often seek to balance efficiency gains with other socioeconomic goals. Although many IFQ programs include such "protection provisions" their impacts are not well understood. This study addresses this literature gap by examining the impacts of protection provisions in the Alaska halibut IFQ program through three analytical chapters examining the costs of quota share trading restrictions, the determinants of hired skipper use, and the impacts of hired skipper use on new entry, wherein hired skipper use serves as a proxy for leasing. The first analytical chapter shows that the efficiency costs of inter-vessel class quota share trading restrictions may be high and showcases linear programming as a potential tool to estimate these costs. The second analytical chapter reveals that the probability of hired skipper use is associated with the residency and the shareholdings of the shareholder. The third analytical chapter shows that the relationship between hired skipper use and entry is complex. Whereas a counterfactual analysis of entry shows that the prohibition on the use of hired skippers in the Southeast Alaska regulatory area may have provided for greater numbers of new entrants into this area relative to the other areas, a discrete choice model of exit shows that hired skipper use is positively associated with the probability of exit for initial recipients. This research provides evidence of the tradeoffs associated with protection provisions in IFQ programs, provides more insight into how participants behave in the fishery, and reveals some attributes of shareholders that could potentially be targeted by policy makers concerned with leasing, entry, and exit rates.