OWERS: INCOME ESTIMATES AND RETURNS IN SALMON FISHERIES 



TABLE 1. — Input data used to generate estimates of fishermen's incomes by fishery. 



1 Computed from landing records of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game for the years 1 969-73 Adjusted by Wholesale Price Index using 1 973 as a base year, 

 information gathered from a cost survey of Alaskan fishermen (Source: Owers 1974). 



3 Computed from landing records and license files of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game for the years 1969-72. 



■•Information gathered from a random sample of gear license holders. Reported from Internal Revenue Service in confidential format that did not reveal individual 

 identities. 

 5 No reliable data. Data from Cook Inlet used as an approximation. 



exvessel revenue paid to crewmembers, exclusive 

 of the entry permit holder; and C is expenses per 

 vessel. 



To estimate net returns to the entry permit hold- 

 er, including the opportunity cost of capital, the 

 following equation was used: 



N 2 = N t - A • B • I  (1 - F) - 2  JV X  B (3) 



where N 2 is the net return less opportunity capital 

 costs; A is a constant term used to deflate the 

 average value of investment; B is a constant used 

 for the opportunity cost of capital; / is the average 

 total value of investment per operating unit in the 

 fishery as estimated by fishermen; and F is the 

 percent of income received in other fisheries. 



Finally, to estimate the entry permit holder's 

 total annual income from all sources, the following 

 equation was used: 



Y = N, + X + O 



(4) 



where Y is total annual income; X is net earnings 

 from other fisheries; and O is income earned from 

 employment other than commercial fishing. 



All these equations provide an estimate of the 

 average rate of return per entry permit holder or 

 operating unit in a particular fishery. Analysis of 

 fish landings indicates that a large number of 

 fishermen participate only a short period out of the 

 total fishing time available. A study of returns in 

 Alaska's fisheries shows there is evidence that the 

 time an operator spends fishing is correlated with 

 profit (Smith et al. see footnote 5). Therefore, the 

 average rate of return discussed here is assumed 

 to be the potential earnings of a fisherman who 

 participates during the entire season in that par- 

 ticular fishery but, it is still likely that there will 

 be some concentration of landings by top pro- 

 ducers. 



A further simplifying assumption in these equa- 

 tions is that the resource will be harvested at the 

 same level of output with all the various numbers 

 of operating units considered. Preliminary esti- 

 mates provided by management biologists of the 

 Alaska Department of Fish and Game indicate 

 that the magnitude of cutbacks described in this 

 paper would not affect the ability of the salmon 

 fishing fleet to harvest at the maximum sustain- 

 able yield level (Jackman et al. 1973). 



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