Local, regional and global markets: what drives the tuna fisheries?

Abstract

Tuna products are amongst the most popular seafoods in the world and widely traded across the globe. Their global trade developed at a very early stage in the growth and development of tuna fisheries. In this article, recent evolutions of tuna markets in terms of products (for both sashimi and cannery-grade tuna products), market structures, and trade are introduced followed by a comprehensive study of global integration through price linkages. Most studies show a high degree of market integration and competition through prices at the world-wide level. Finally, we introduce some original results about the relationship between catches and prices (estimated coefficients of demand elasticity and flexibility), and provide answers to a few key questions for tuna fisheries and markets, including: How do consumers respond to price changes? Are fish price changes fully transmitted to consumers? Is there any economic incentive for fishers to comply with reduced catch quotas? Do fishers target particular tuna species according to the relative price of tuna species?