Management of fishing capacity in a spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) fishery: analysis of trap performance under the Florida spiny lobster Trap Certificate Program

摘要

The spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) fishery in Florida wasudoperationally inefficient and overcapitalized throughout the 1980s. The Trap Certificate Program initiated during the 1992–93 season was intended to increase gear efficiencyudby reducing the number of traps being used while maintainingudthe same catch level in the fishery. A depletion model was used to estimate trap fishing efficiency. The costs of fishing operations and the value of the catch were used to determine the revenues generated by the fishery under different trap levels. A negative functional relationshipudwas found between the catchability coefficient and the number of traps, which indicated that the fewer trapsudoperating under the trap reduction scheme were more efficient. Also, the financial analyses indicated that theudhigher catch efficiency resulting from fewer traps generated significantly higher revenues, despite lower stockudabundances. This study indicates that the trap reduction program had improved a situation that would have been much worse.