Estimating Dynamic Adjustment in Commercial Fisheries

Abstract

This article combines bioeconomic theory and econometrics to develop a coupled model of fishing effort and stock dynamics. We apply the model to the lake whitefish fishery in the Great Lakes. The results provide support for the standard bioeconomic model of renewable resource exploitation in which fishing effort adjusts symmetrically with respect to profit and loss, but also that effort is affected by seasonal factors and drift. When we simulate the system for lake whitefish, we find that over the long run, effort adjusts slowly toward zero or a small recurring level.