measure technological change can be a very 

 powerful means of keeping productivity indices 

 up to date. Any new device, strategy, or vessel 

 design can be tested for its ability to increase 

 productivity as it is being introduced and 

 therefore, can be permanently built into the 

 vessel productivity indices. 



One of the more important attributes of these 

 production functions is that they provide a 

 simple way to test whether information being 

 gathered is relevant to the task at hand. For 

 example, fishing days are collected in New 

 England. Upon further testing it may be 

 decided that this information is not worth 

 its cost. 



The technique can also provide a way to 

 handle some of the causes of secular changes in 

 the productivity of a fleet. For example, in 

 both of the fleets considered, both vessel size 

 (GRT and capacity) and horsepower made 

 significant contributions to the determination 

 of productivity. Thus, as new vessels are added 

 to a fleet, their productivity can be estimated 

 even though they have larger engines relative 

 to vessel size than other vessels in their size 

 class. It is also possible to keep estimates of 

 productivity current as the engines of old 

 vessels are replaced or upgraded and changes 

 in crew size are made. 



LITERATURE CITED 



BELL, F. VV. 1966. The Economics of the New England 

 Fishing Industry: The Role of Technological Change 

 and Government Aid, Research Report to the Federal 

 Reserve Bank of Boston, \o. 3L Boston: Federal 

 Reserve Bank of Boston. 216 pp. 



BEVERTON, R. J. H., and S. J. HOLT. 1957. On the 

 Dynamics of Exploited Fish Populations. Ministrj' of 

 Agriculture, Fish and Food (U. K.), Fishery Investiga- 

 tions, Ser. II (19): 533 pp. 



GULLAND, J. A. 1956. On the Fishing Effort in English 

 Demersal Fisheries. Ministry of Agriculture, Fish and 

 Food (U. K.), Fishery Investigations, Ser. II (20): 

 44 pp. 



Merchant Vessels of the United States. 1965. U. S. 

 Department of the Treasury. Washington. D. C: V. S. 

 Government Printing Office. 



NOETZEL, B. G., and V. J. NORTON. 1969. Costs and 

 Earnings in the Boston Large-Trawler Fleet. Economics 

 of Marine Resources, University of Rhode Island 

 Agricultural Experiment Station, Bulletin 400. 



SHIMADA, B., and M. B. SCHAEFER. 1956. A Study 

 of Changes in Fishing Effort, Abundance, and Yield 

 for Yellowfin and Skipjack Tuna in the Eastern Tropical 

 Pacific Ocean. Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, 

 Bulletin 1(7): 348-469. 



TINTNER, G. 1952. 

 Wiley and Sons. 



Econometrics. New York: John 



52 



