Fishing under the Radar

Abstract

This paper evaluates the world’s largest fishing ban, the annual fishing moratorium in China, and explores its compliance. We start by estimating the reduction in fishing effort due to the ban. We use vessel broadcast positions and fishing boat detections from nighttime lights and find reductions in fishing activity by up to 90 percent. We then explore characteristics of non-complying vessels and how they respond to the policy: Fishers catch more during evenings and nights, they disable vessel broadcast devices, and we observe more transshipment events. Finally, we find that attractive income opportunities during the ban hamper compliance.