Distributional performance of two different rights-based managed small-scale lobster fisheries: Individual and collective territorial use rights regimes

Abstract

This work reports on how benefits were distributed among fishers of two rights-based managed small-scale spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) fisheries, presenting individually and collectively based territorial use rights regimes. In the individually based fishery of Punta Allen, members of the local fishing cooperative have exclusive access to individual fishing grounds and target only spiny lobsters. The collectively based regime occurs in a multispecies fishery (including spiny lobsters) of two nearby fishing communities of northeastern Yucatan. Each of the fishing cooperatives of these two communities has its own exclusive lobster fishing area. However, the two communities have jointly agreed to share their exclusive areas. Data from fishing cooperative logbooks were used to calculate fishing revenues per fisher for the lobster fishing season 2017/2018. In the case of the multispecies fishery, fishing revenues of each fisher were assessed by the weighted average of catch composition value. To evaluate the fishing benefits spread, Lorenz curves and Gini indexes (G) were calculated using the fishing revenue distribution among participating fishers. Calculated G values had a range of [0.263, 0.367], with the collectively based territorial use rights fisheries having the lowest inequality levels of the fisheries reported in this study. These findings could indicate that fishing revenues in the two analyzed fisheries are spread more equally than most fisheries where distributional performance has been assessed. This could be evidence that cooperation may positively influence the relatively high distributional performance of fisheries managed under these rights-based regimes. A comparison with other worldwide fisheries whose G has been reported is included.