Individual fishing quotas in the eastern Gulf of Mexicogrouper fishery: fleet restructuring, effort reduction andcost savings

This paper estimates a structural model of multiple-species harvesting costs in the easternGulf of Mexico reef fish fishery. The calibrated model is used to predict fleet size, vessellevelharvesting activity and fleet-wide revenues and costs that are expected under a proposedindividual fishing quota (IFQ) management program for grouper species. Results suggest thatsignificant fleet downsizing, scale economies and pure efficiency gains will emerge under IFQs.Overall, IFQs appear to be an attractive alternative to the current controlled access managementprogram in the fishery.[...]