Bioeconomic Analysis of Managing an Invasive Species that is Both a Value and a Pest

This paper uses a model combining three strands within the bioeconomic literature: spatial management, pest and nuisance management, and enforcement under different ecological dispersal processes (i.e., sink-source versus density-dependent) to illustrate the dual management policy (i.e., economic benefits and environmental concerns) of the invasive red king crab in Norway. Model analysis results provide several implications for managing invasive species that are both valuable resources and nuisances. First, the existing management involving spatial exploitation, i.e., a regulated fishery in the heavily invaded area and an open access fishery in the less densely invaded area, produces a win-win solution that brings both economic benefits to local communities and eliminates further spread of the invader and its environmental impacts. Second, an economic incentive mechanism (i.e., a subsidy for harvesting the invader in open-access area) may be a good economic tool to control the invader, but can have pros and cons in the case of a two-area management, i.e., negative effects on the regulated fishery, increasing societal cost, and strengthening of fisher cheating incentives, thereby increasing pressure on enforcement controls. Third, uncertainty and knowledge gaps regarding the invaders’ distribution can result in under/over-estimated stock and harvest, thus potentially creating losses for the commercial fishery