Management of fishing capacity in a spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) fishery: analysis of trap performance under the Florida spiny lobster Trap Certificate Program
The spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) fishery in Florida wasoperationally inefficient and overcapitalized throughout the 1980s. The Trap Certificate Program initiated during the 1992–93 season was intended to increase gear efficiencyby reducing the number of traps being used while maintainingthe same catch level in the fishery. A depletion model was used to estimate trap fishing efficiency. The costs of fishing operations and the value of the catch were used to determine the revenues generated by the fishery under different trap levels. A negative functional relationshipwas found between the catchability coefficient and the number of traps, which indicated that the fewer trapsoperating under the trap reduction scheme were more efficient. Also, the financial analyses indicated that thehigher catch efficiency resulting from fewer traps generated significantly higher revenues, despite lower stockabundances. This study indicates that the trap reduction program had improved a situation that would have been much worse.
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | article biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2009
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| Subjects: | Biology, Ecology, Fisheries, |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1834/25450 |
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| Summary: | The spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) fishery in Florida wasoperationally inefficient and overcapitalized throughout the 1980s. The Trap Certificate Program initiated during the 1992–93 season was intended to increase gear efficiencyby reducing the number of traps being used while maintainingthe same catch level in the fishery. A depletion model was used to estimate trap fishing efficiency. The costs of fishing operations and the value of the catch were used to determine the revenues generated by the fishery under different trap levels. A negative functional relationshipwas found between the catchability coefficient and the number of traps, which indicated that the fewer trapsoperating under the trap reduction scheme were more efficient. Also, the financial analyses indicated that thehigher catch efficiency resulting from fewer traps generated significantly higher revenues, despite lower stockabundances. This study indicates that the trap reduction program had improved a situation that would have been much worse. |
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