Intergenerational valuation of fisheries resources can justify long-term conservation: a case study in Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua)
Where the conventional model of discounting advocates aggressive harvest policies, intergenerational discounting could have been used to render the historic gross overfishing of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) economically unappealing compared with a more conservative long-term strategy. Under these dis...
Published in: | Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences |
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f05-010 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/f05-010 |
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/f05-010 2024-09-09T19:29:41+00:00 Intergenerational valuation of fisheries resources can justify long-term conservation: a case study in Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua) Ainsworth, C H Sumaila, U R 2005 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f05-010 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/f05-010 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences volume 62, issue 5, page 1104-1110 ISSN 0706-652X 1205-7533 journal-article 2005 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/f05-010 2024-06-20T04:11:54Z Where the conventional model of discounting advocates aggressive harvest policies, intergenerational discounting could have been used to render the historic gross overfishing of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) economically unappealing compared with a more conservative long-term strategy. Under these discounting approaches, we compare the historic harvest trend from 1985 (and projected postcollapse earnings) with theoretical optimal harvest profiles determined by an ecosystem model. The optimal scenarios generate less initial harvest than the historic profile but maintain the resource and provide greater yields over the long term. At a discount rate equal to market interest, we demonstrate that it was more economic under conventional valuation to harvest the cod stock to collapse than it would have been to sustain the population. However, under intergenerational valuation, the sustainable optimal scenarios outperform the actual harvest profile. Application of conventional discounting by fishing consortiums may be partly to blame for depletion, yet management fell short of even that ideal. Article in Journal/Newspaper atlantic cod Gadus morhua Canadian Science Publishing Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 62 5 1104 1110 |
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Open Polar |
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Canadian Science Publishing |
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crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
description |
Where the conventional model of discounting advocates aggressive harvest policies, intergenerational discounting could have been used to render the historic gross overfishing of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) economically unappealing compared with a more conservative long-term strategy. Under these discounting approaches, we compare the historic harvest trend from 1985 (and projected postcollapse earnings) with theoretical optimal harvest profiles determined by an ecosystem model. The optimal scenarios generate less initial harvest than the historic profile but maintain the resource and provide greater yields over the long term. At a discount rate equal to market interest, we demonstrate that it was more economic under conventional valuation to harvest the cod stock to collapse than it would have been to sustain the population. However, under intergenerational valuation, the sustainable optimal scenarios outperform the actual harvest profile. Application of conventional discounting by fishing consortiums may be partly to blame for depletion, yet management fell short of even that ideal. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ainsworth, C H Sumaila, U R |
spellingShingle |
Ainsworth, C H Sumaila, U R Intergenerational valuation of fisheries resources can justify long-term conservation: a case study in Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua) |
author_facet |
Ainsworth, C H Sumaila, U R |
author_sort |
Ainsworth, C H |
title |
Intergenerational valuation of fisheries resources can justify long-term conservation: a case study in Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua) |
title_short |
Intergenerational valuation of fisheries resources can justify long-term conservation: a case study in Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua) |
title_full |
Intergenerational valuation of fisheries resources can justify long-term conservation: a case study in Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua) |
title_fullStr |
Intergenerational valuation of fisheries resources can justify long-term conservation: a case study in Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Intergenerational valuation of fisheries resources can justify long-term conservation: a case study in Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua) |
title_sort |
intergenerational valuation of fisheries resources can justify long-term conservation: a case study in atlantic cod ( gadus morhua) |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2005 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f05-010 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/f05-010 |
genre |
atlantic cod Gadus morhua |
genre_facet |
atlantic cod Gadus morhua |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences volume 62, issue 5, page 1104-1110 ISSN 0706-652X 1205-7533 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/f05-010 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences |
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62 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
1104 |
op_container_end_page |
1110 |
_version_ |
1809898804864876544 |