A Spatial Allocation Model for the New England Fisheries

The objective of this study is to determine the impact of (1) the new 1984 maritime boundary between the United States and Canada in the Northwest Atlantic and (2) the availability of the Brooklyn, New York, port as an alternative landing site on the distribution of domestic and imported groundfish (cod, haddock, and founder)from their point of capture or entry to their final market. A deterministic nonlinearprogramming model of the New England groundfish fishery was developed. Themodel maximizes net consumer surplus to determine the competitive equilibriumspatial allocation of harvesting, landing, processing, pricing, and consumptionpatterns. The model incorporates retail demand functions for cod, haddock, andflatfish for five demand regions; steaming costs, fishing costs, and capacityconstraints for two vessel classes; transportation costs; constraints on port andprocessing capacity; and supply constraints for nine possible ocean fishing areas.The model was specified for three different cases, the first simulating 1984 conditions(under the original boundary and before the construction of the Brooklyn port), thesecond incorporating the effects of the new boundary, and the third allowing landingsto occur in Brooklyn, New York. Results of the model are presented contrasting thesolutions obtained for each case. Implications regarding resource, port, andprocessing use and consumption and pricing patterns are discussed.