Fishing Technology and Fleet Dynamics: Predictions from a Bioeconomic Model

Bioeconomic models of fisheries usually do not provide details of fishermen's short-run behavior. This paper develops a model for the short-run selection of fishing location by a profit-maximizing fisherman in an open-access fishery given that fish density increases further from port and given that fishing trips have a fixed duration. For any particular level of fish price and fish stock abundance, a fishing vessel's technical characteristics (fuel consumption, catch rate, vessel speed) and economic characteristics (wage rates, fuel price) determine the optimum location for fishing. A long-run model is derived; the cost flows for the fishing vessel and the biological dynamics are added to the system. The models are applied to the evolution of a hypothetical fishery in which fishermen utilize either an active fishing technology (trawlers) or a passive one (long-liners).