A Cost-Benefit Method for Determining Optimum Closed Fishing Areas to Reduce the Trawl Catch of Prohibited Species

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• Main Authors: Somerton, David A., June, Jeffrey
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1984
• Subjects: Aquatic Science; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; Bering Sea; Red king crab
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f84-008; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/f84-008

Red king crab (Paralithodes camtschatica), a prohibited species, are incidentally caught by United States trawl fisheries for yellowfin sole (Limanda aspera) and other groundfish in the eastern Bering Sea. To reduce this incidental catch, we propose a method for determining a king crab conservation zone where trawling would be prohibited. This method considers the gross revenue potentially gained by the yellowfin sole fishery and lost by the king crab fishery by allowing trawling in each of a number of equal-size areas. Utilizing exvessel prices and research survey estimates of species densities, areas are assigned relative values equal to the value of groundfish minus the value of king crab. By including all areas with negative relative values in the conservation zone, the potential gross revenue that could be obtained from the groundfish and king crab resource is maximized.