We assess cod, herring, and sprat fisheries in the Baltic Sea under different environmental conditions using a bioeconomic model with simple predation functions. We compare the status quo fishing policy to an optimal policy under two different salinity conditions, which have a link to climate change. The fishery of these species is not at the most profitable level. If the fishing mortalities are lower, economic return will be greater in the long run. A lower fishing mortality for cod, which allows time for individuals to grow and achieve a higher economic value and reproduction potential, would result in the recovery of the cod stock. Under a high salinity level, which leads to better conditions for cod recruitment, the cod stock has a better chance to recover even without a decrease in fishing mortality. Therefore, fishery management is even more important under conditions of low salinity, which are likely to prevail in the future due to changing climate.

JEL Classification Codes: Q22, Q54, Q57

We undertake a bioeconomic analysis of the aggregate traditional fisheries in the Northern and Central areas of Red Sea off the coast of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Results of our analysis using a Fox model and the Clarke-Yoshimoto- Pooley (CY&P) estimation procedure suggest that the aggregate traditional fisheries have been overfished since the early 1990s. The estimated stock size in recent years is as low as 6,400 MT, while the estimated stock size associated with the maximum economic yield (MEY) is 19,300 MT. The socially optimal level of fishing effort is about 139,000 days. Thus, the current effort level of 300,000 to 350,000 days constitutes a problem of overfishing. The estimated current total gross revenue from the traditional fisheries is Saudi Rials (SR) 147 million with zero net benefit. If total fishing effort is reduced to the socially optimal level, then we estimate gross revenue would be SR 167 million and the potential net benefit from the KSA Red Sea traditional fisheries could be as large as SR 111 million.

JEL Classification Code: Q22

This study used monthly data on ex-farm prices and quantities of mussels from five major mussel-producing countries in Europe to estimate a nonlinear Inverse Almost Ideal Demand System (IAIDS). The model specification fits well with monthly data from 2002–2008. Uncompensated own-price flexibilities for farmed mussels from Spain, France, Italy, and the Netherlands are inflexible, while demand for Denmark's wild stock mussels is flexible. Dutch mussels are deemed a luxury food, while preferences for mussels from other countries appear independent of the level of total expenditure (i.e., homothetic preferences). The results also show weak substitution relationships between mussels from these countries.

JEL Classification Code: Q22

This article analyses the effect that changes in the quantities supplied from EU fish stocks have on fish prices. As opposed to earlier studies, this one is European- wide, taking international market integration into account. Average own-price flexibilities for fresh captured fish are found to be −1.1. This implies that price flexibilities previously estimated for single European countries underestimate price changes at the European level caused by quantity changes. Results indicate that changing quantities can increase revenues from individual species with large own-price flexibilities, provided that stocks supply a significant share of the total EU supply. That is found to be the case for sole and anchovies, but not for cod and hake. Thus, for sole the short-run decline in fishermen's incomes following quota and quantity reductions are partly compensated by rising prices. For anchovies it only happens when quotas are reduced for several stocks simultaneously.

JEL Classification Code: Q32, Q21, Q22

Recent supply shocks in the Gulf of Mexico—including hurricanes, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the seasonal appearance of a large dead zone of low oxygen water (hypoxia)—have raised concerns about the economic viability of the U.S. shrimp fishery. The ability of U.S. shrimpers to mediate supply shocks through increased prices hinges on the degree of market integration, both among shrimp of different sizes classes and between U.S. wild caught shrimp and imported farmed shrimp. We use detailed data on shrimp prices by size class and import prices to conduct a co-integration analysis of market integration in the shrimp industry. We find significant evidence of market integration, suggesting that the law of one price holds for this industry. Hence, in the face of a supply shocks, prices do not rise; instead, imports of foreign farmed fish increase.

JEL Classification Code: Q22