Net economic impacts of achieving maximum economic yield in fisheries

Improving the economic performance of fisheries is becoming increasinglyimportant in fisheries management, and in some cases, maximum economic yield (MEY) isset as a key management target. However, associated with MEY is a level of fishing activitythat is lower than would otherwise occur, even in fisheries managed to achieve the maximumsustainable yield. This will result in losses in economic activity elsewhere in the economy,potentially resulting in a net loss to society in the short to medium term. In this paper, aninput-output framework is used to estimate the net economic impact of achieving MEY inAustralian fisheries. While incomes are reduced in other sectors of the economy, the netimpact of achieving MEY in fisheries is dependent on how total catches are likely to changerelative to their levels under current management. It is argued that, at least in most Australianfisheries, achieving MEY will result in a net economic benefit to society. Local communitiesare likely to be included among the set of main beneficiaries, with potential losses beingincurred elsewhere in the economy. Sectors that potentially lose as a result of the transition toMEY previously benefited from overcapitalisation in fisheries, and hence higher incomes inthese sectors were an artefact of the market failure in fisheries.