Management and Economic Performance in the Gulf of Papua and Pacific Tuna Fisheries

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Management and Economic Performance in the Gulf
of Papua and Pacific Tuna Fisheries PNG Update,
Port Moresby April 2007 Acknowledgements ACIAR
Project ASEM/2002/050, Crawford School and Ron
Kuk (NFA) Tom Kompas Crawford School of
Economics and Government Australian National
University
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Commonwealth Fish Stocks (Australia)
Source Bureau of Rural Science, Stock
Assessment Report All this despite the fact that
in the past 10 years the Australian federal
government has committed at least 80-90 million
per year to fisheries research and management.
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Revenues, costs and net returns2004-05 dollars
(not including mgmt costs)
million
Northern prawn
Torres Strait prawn
Gillnet, hook and trap
Commonwealth trawl
Eastern tuna and billfish
Source ABARE survey data
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Gulf of Papua Prawn Fishery (GPPF)Pacific Tuna

• The good news Stock status for banana prawns
  is larger than stock at MSY.
• The worry
• Poor economic profits
• Wrong or no fishery target wrong instrument
• Poorly-defined and ineffective property rights to
  fish
• Pacific Tuna Overfished!

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The right target Maximum Economic Yield (MEY)

• MEY A sustainable catch or effort level that
  creates the largest difference between
  (discounted) total revenues and the total costs
  of fishing.
• For profits to be maximized it must also be the
  case that the fishery applies a level of capital
  and other resources in combinations that minimize
  the costs of harvesting at the MEY catch level.

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Why MEY as a target?

• Maximizes fishery profits, regardless of changes
  in the price of fish or cost of fishing.
• Improves international competitiveness.
• Resilience to economic shocks.
• Conservationist in most cases stock size is
  larger than that associated with MSY.
• Provides added resilience and other environmental
  benefits.
• Proper resource allocation
• Prevents over-capitalization, falling
  incomes/asset values and expensive adjustment
  programs.

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Illustrating MEY
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Catch in the GPPF
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Biomass in the GPPF
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Optimal Results MEY target
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Results Pacific Tuna
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Whats wrong in the GPPF and Pacifc Tuna?

• GPPFUnderutilized resource stocks larger than
  stocks at MEY (and MSY).
• No secure property rights yearly fishing rights
  no SFRs and long-term status/stake in the
  fishery.
• Pacific Tuna overfished, low returns toPIS
• Need an MEY target and the right instrument
  (effort or input controls vs. output controls and
  ITQs).

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Concluding remarks

• Need to consider both the biology and economics
  for effective management.
• Need the right instrument and the right target.
• For the GPPF also need more secure property
  rights. for Pacific Tuna less fishing!
• A good opportunity (given healthy stocks) to get
  things right.