An Integrated Economic Analysis of Alternative Bycatch, Commercial, and Recreational
Policies for the Recovery of Gulf of Mexico Red Snapper

Dr. Richard Woodward Department of Agricultural Economics Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-2124 r-woodward@tamu.edu

Dr. Wade Griffin Department of Agricultural Economics Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-2124 wgriffin@tamu.edu

Dr. Yong Suhk Wui Aquaculture/Fisheries Center University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Pine Bluff, AR 71601 ywui@uaex.edu

This report was prepared under Federal MARFIN grant No. NA87FF0420 through the Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service.

June 2003

Project Summary

This project report presents analysis of policies to address problems associated with the red snapper fishery in the Gulf of Mexico using the General Bioeconomic Fisheries Simulation Model (GBFSM). In chapter 2 we evaluate the extent to which effort reduction in the shrimp fishery can diminish bycatch while at the same time improving the economic efficiency of the shrimp fishery. Two effort-reduction policies are considered: a fractional license program and a fractional gear program. We find that effort reduction in the shrimp fishery is more cost effective way of diminishing bycatch than policies that require the use of bycatch reduction devices in fish nets. The second policy option studied in chapter 3 evaluates the dynamically efficient time-path and the sustainably optimal time path for the total allowable catch (TAC) for red snapper. The dynamically optimal path is found using a recursive dynamic programming approach, nesting GBFSM in a dynamic programming algorithm.

Links to text (pdf files)

• Title Page
• Executive Summary, Table of Contents, and Lists of Tables and Figures
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: An Economic Analysis Of Two New Bycatch-Reduction Policies In The Gulf Of Mexico
• Chapter 3: A Dynamic-Sustainability Analysis of Red-Snapper Fishing Policies In The Gulf of Mexico
• References
• Appendices A: Derivation of the Optimal Footrope Equation, and
  Appendix B: Econometric Model for the Revenue, Cost, and Footrope Equations
• Appendix C: Calibrating The General Bioeconomic General Simulation Models (GBFSM)