A Bioeconomic Analysis of a Wild Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) Recreational Fishery JON OLAF OLAUSSEN

• Main Authors: Trondheim Business School, Sintef Fisheries, Anders Skonhoft
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Atlantic salmon; Salmo salar
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.535.8759; http://www.svt.ntnu.no/iso/Anders.Skonhoft/Olausen Skonhoft Mar Res Ec 2008.pdf

Abstract A biomass model of a wild salmon (Salmo salar) river recreational fishery is formulated, and the ways in which economic and biological conditions influence harvesting, stock size, profitability, and the benefit of the anglers are studied. The demand for recreational angling is met by fishing permits supplied by myopic profit-maximizing landowners. Both price-taking and monopolistic supply is studied. These schemes are contrasted with an overall river manage-ment regime. Gear regulations in the recreational fishery, but also the commercial fishery, are analysed under the various management scenarios, and the paper concludes with some policy implications. One novel result is that im-posing gear restrictions in the recreational fishery may have the exact opposite stock effects of imposing restrictions on the marine harvest. Key words Salmon, recreational fishery, conflicting interests, stock dynamics. JEL Classification Codes Q26, Q22, Q21. “River fisheries are a natural resource of a very limited character, and would be rapidly exhausted, if allowed to be used by every one without restraint ” (John Stuart Mill 1848).