CONCEPT OF CAPACITY: 

 FISHING INDUSTRY 



General Capacity Characteristics 



In general, a firm's productive capacity refers to 

 the quantity of output that can be produced during 

 a given time with existing plant and equipment. 

 This definition is characterized by physical and 

 time dimensions. The physical dimension requires 

 that output be specified in terms of a measurable 

 quantity. The time dimension reflects what "can 

 be produced" during the period of operation of the 

 plant. An important aspect of the time dimension 

 centers on the interpretation of "what can be pro- 

 duced." For example, plant and equipment can be 

 u.sed to produce a certain quantity of output if 

 operated continuously 24 h a day, for 7 days a 

 week, assuming no resource input constraints; 

 and another quantity of output if operated 8 h a 

 day, 5 days a week, taking into account the most 

 economical combination of inputs. Because of 

 these characteristics and the variability of output 

 given different economic and environmental con- 

 ditions, there does not appear to be a unique 

 number for capacity. 



Fishing Fleet Capacit)- Measures 



Technical Capacity 



While it may not be possible to define the con- 

 cept of capacity in precise detail, a distinction can 

 be made between technical and economic capacity. 

 A technical interpretation can be formulated in 

 terms of the following question: how much fish can 

 be caught by a given vessel on each trip, utilizing 

 the entire physical hold space and with no con- 

 straints on resource abundance? Capacity in this 

 context is associated with the physical hold space 

 of a fishing vessel. It represents an upper limit on 

 the physical capabilities of the vessel, assuming 

 no input constraints. However, a technical defini- 

 tion of capacity as described above has limited 

 applicability under the FCMA because the capac- 

 ity problem is to determine the amount offish the 

 fleet can be expected to catch during a given time 

 period. In other words, the physical notion relates 

 to "assess the capacity" but does not provide any 

 guidance on the "extent to which" this capacity 

 will be utilized. 



FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL 77, NO J 

 Economic Capacity of a Fishinj; Fleet 



Economic theory contains several different con- 

 cepts of capacity. These are briefly described as 

 follows: 



1) the output that can be produced at minimum 

 average cost in a competitive model (Klein 

 and Pre,ston 1967); 



2) the production flow associated with the input 

 of fully utilized manpower, capital, and labor, 

 and other relevant factors of production 

 (Klein 19601; 



3) the maximum sustainable level of output the 

 industry can attain withina very short time if 

 the demand for its product were not a con- 

 straining factor, when the industry is operat- 

 ing its existing stock of capital at its custom- 

 ai-y level of mtensity (Klein and Summers 

 19661; 



41 the greatest level of output that a plant can 

 achieve within the framework of a realistic 

 work pattern (U.S. Bureau of the Census 

 19761. 



The first concept has generally been used in 

 theoretical discussions about capacity. The other 

 concepts have been applied in the measurement of 

 capacity in the manufacturing sectors of the 

 economy. In addition, there are several concepts 

 pertaining to agricultural capacity, although none 

 of these have gained universal acceptance (Spiel- 

 mann and Weeks 1975). After reviewing these 

 concepts and taking into account the specific re- 

 quirements of the FCMA, it is nevertheless possi- 

 ble to develop a concept of capacity applicable to 

 the harvesting sector of the fishing industry. 



Harvesting ( apacitj Under the FCMA 



The FCMA requires that estimates be made of 

 U.S. harvesting capacity which are clearly short 

 run in nature. This is due to the fact that, in a 

 particular year, total allowable catch constraints 

 are established, and the problem then is to deter- 

 mine the catch of the U.S. fleet under different 

 economic conditions. In the short run, economic 

 capacity is related to the quantity offish that can 

 be caught with a fishing vessel in order to 

 maximize profits or other objectives during a spec- 

 ified period of time. The concept of capacity in this 

 context reflects the behavior of the vessel in the 



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