24 MANAGEMENT OF HIGH SEAS FISHERIES 



ECONOMIC BASIS OF FISHERY MANAGEMENT 



In 1956 the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United 

 Nations held a round table discussion ot the economics of fisheries 

 in Rome (International Econoinic Assoc, 1957). This was one year 

 after the conference on the "Conservation of the Living Resources 

 of the Sea" held by the same organization. The economic conference 

 was organized by the International Economic Association and did 

 not include in its deliberations discussion of the interrelationship 

 between biological and economic problems of fisheries conservation 

 and control. This ^vas first discussed jointly at a conference on the 

 "Biological and Economic Aspects of Fisheries Management" held 

 at the College of Fisheries, University of Washington on February 

 17-19, 1959. This discussion was continued at a conference sponsored 

 by the FAO in Ottawa in Jiuie, 1961. In each succeeding conference 

 it was progressively recognized that the aims of both the economists 

 and biologists essentially agree. The more significant papers dealing 

 with these two subjects have been published by A. Scott (1962), 

 J. A. Crutchfield (1959b), H. S. Gordon (1954), and M. B. Schaefer 

 (1954). 



Summarizing briefly conclusions reached by these authors, the 

 maximiun sustained yield concept should be replaced by that of 

 maximum economic yield or rent as the guiding principle in fisheries 

 management. Because of the direct relationship between the amount 

 of fishing (i.e., the amount of gear riui) and costs, the theoretical 

 maximum economic yield would probably lie somewhere below the 

 theoretical maximum sustained biological yield and at a higher level 

 of abundance. 



Because of the nature of the high seas fish stocks as unowned or 

 common property resource, there are few natural limiting factors 

 which restrict entry by new fishermen. So long as each vessel can 

 fish at a profit it will continue to do so, and other boats will con- 

 tinue to enter the fishery. A fishery management program guided by 

 the maximum sustained yield concept may adequately conserve or 

 maintain the resource, but will not assure the efficiency of the fishery. 

 In fact, unlimited entry and a limited catch are almost guaranteed 

 to insure inefficiency. On the other hand, if the guiding objective is 

 maximum economic yield, then the management program would 

 limit participation to a level which would permit the harvest of the 



