TY - JOUR
T1 - Fishing down the value chain
T2 - Biodiversity and access regimes in freshwater fisheries - the case of Malawi
AU - Kasulo, Victor
AU - Perrings, Charles
PY - 2006/8/5
Y1 - 2006/8/5
N2 - This paper considers the connection between the diversity of catch in a multi-species fishery and the productivity of the fishery under different access regimes. A modified Gordon-Schaefer model is used to analyse the importance of the level of diversity in a fishery in open access and profit maximising regimes. The modified model, which includes both environmental and bioeconomic variables, is fitted to data from a gillnet fishery in Lake Malawi. Pressure on stocks is shown to be greater at all levels of biodiversity in open access than it is in profit maximising regimes. However, in a profit maximising regime both catch and the productivity of fishing effort is highest when there is a single marketed species. By contrast, in an open access regime catches are maximised at higher levels of bioeconomic diversity than in profit maximising regimes. Implications for policy are discussed.
AB - This paper considers the connection between the diversity of catch in a multi-species fishery and the productivity of the fishery under different access regimes. A modified Gordon-Schaefer model is used to analyse the importance of the level of diversity in a fishery in open access and profit maximising regimes. The modified model, which includes both environmental and bioeconomic variables, is fitted to data from a gillnet fishery in Lake Malawi. Pressure on stocks is shown to be greater at all levels of biodiversity in open access than it is in profit maximising regimes. However, in a profit maximising regime both catch and the productivity of fishing effort is highest when there is a single marketed species. By contrast, in an open access regime catches are maximised at higher levels of bioeconomic diversity than in profit maximising regimes. Implications for policy are discussed.
KW - Biodiversity
KW - Fisheries
KW - Open access
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=33745898511&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=33745898511&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2005.09.029
DO - 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2005.09.029
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:33745898511
SN - 0921-8009
VL - 59
SP - 106
EP - 114
JO - Ecological Economics
JF - Ecological Economics
IS - 1
ER -