Harbor porpoise bycatch: ITQs or time/area closures in the New England gillnet fishery.

摘要

The implications of individual transferable quotas (ITQs) for reducing harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) bycatch in a multi-species fishery (New England, USA) are investigated using an intra-year bioeconomic model that incorporates spatial and temporal patterns of abundance and harvest rates of commercial fish species and porpoises. Results indicate that porpoise ITQs, when compared to closures, are more profitable than closures, and distribute effort and profit reductions more evenly across seasons and areas. Price estimates for a unit of porpoise quota ranges from $1395 to $5782, for total allowable catches ranging from 951 to 209 porpoises, respectively. Total annual willingness to pay for porpoise quota is approximately $1.25 million..