Initial Economic Impacts of the U.S. Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Individual Fishing Quota Program

Abstract

In 2011, management of the limited-entry groundfish trawl fishery on the Pacific coast switched from a system of vessel entry restrictions, gear restrictions, seasonal closures, and bimonthly catch limits to an individual fishing quota (IFQ) program. In addition to advancing a profitable and efficient groundfish fishery, the Pacific Fishery Management Council’s objectives for the IFQ program included minimizing the adverse effects on fishing communities and promoting measurable economic and employment benefits. We developed counterfactual revenues and costs for the fleet and used an input–output model to estimate the change in income and employment for the West Coast as a whole and for 12 different port areas. Our results indicated that alternative assumptions regarding the distribution of quota payments substantially changed conclusions about the economic impacts of the IFQ program. Under an assumption that payments to lease quota were distributed to homeports of vessels reporting revenue from the lease or sale of quota, income in most port areas and across the West Coast increased. Alternatively, assuming that there were no quota payments, about half the port areas and the West Coast overall experienced an increase in income. Lastly, assuming that payments to lease quota were a leakage, income decreased in most port areas and across the West Coast. Regardless of the assumption on the distribution of lease payments, the employment in most port areas and throughout the West Coast has declined due to a direct reduction in the number of employee positions on participating vessels. Although increased income resulted in a boost to employment in some areas, it was usually not enough to completely offset the reduction in the number of vessel employees.

Received July 25, 2016; accepted May 9, 2017Published online July 11, 2017

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors would like to thank Todd Lee, Leif Anderson, Dan Holland, and Marie Guldin for comments that greatly improved this manuscript.