Starting in the 1960s, considerable opposition to the Canadian and Norwegian harp seal hunt off Newfoundland developed. It was alleged that the seal hunt was unethical and that the seal population had been seriously depleted. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the production function for...

We test for optimal vessel size in the Norwegian fishing fleet using cross-section data for the period 1969-73. With the prevailing interest rate defined as the opportunity cost of capital, the Conrad-Unger conditions for static optimality in vessel size are rejected for each year. However,...

This paper examines how to harvest a biomass exposed to a potential collapse at an uncertain date. A specific recovery effect is identified which may be positive or negative. In general, the effect on the optimal biomass is indeterminate and depends upon the failure rate, the expected collapse,...

In this paper, we estimate a multi-output distance function for two North Sea fleet segments and derive output elasticities of substitution to examine the potential for changing catch composition though targeting fishing activity. We find that this ability differs between fleet segments, and...

Traditional fisheries management schemes generate incentives for vessels to maximize catch, resulting in rent dissipation and overcapacity. Individual vessel quota management schemes change the incentives to maximize profit and have the potential to generate resource rent and reduce capacity. An...

A model for the recovery of an endangered species is developed and applied to the red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis), a species once abundant in the southeastern United States. There is a finite set of recovery actions that might be implemented in each period, with the goal of reaching...

The use of riparian land buffers to protect water quality for human consumption and wildlife habitat has become an important conservation tool of both government and non-government agencies. The funds available to acquire private lands for riparian buffers are limited, however, and not all land...