Technical Efficiency in Input-Controlled Fisheries: The NSW Ocean Prawn Trawl Fishery

Input controls in fisheries have been criticised for negatively affecting the efficiency of fishers through incentives to substitute inputs. A stochastic frontier analysis will be used to investigate the influence that input controls have had on the technical efficiency of fishers who operate in the NSW Ocean Prawn Trawl Fishery. The relationship between technical efficiency and controlled and uncontrolled inputs will be examined. In addition, changes in total factor productivity will be analysed to examine whether fishers have been able to partly offset managerial controls through gains in factor productivity. Using the stochastic frontier, economies of scale will be examined to obtain implications for future policy decisions. The study showed input controls have had a negative effect on the technical efficiency of fishers; however, controls do not appear to have had a lasting effect on productivity.