Market interactions between aquaculture and common-property fisheries: Recent evidence from the Bristol Bay sockeye salmon fishery in Alaska

Abstract

The remarkable growth of the global salmon aquaculture industry has generated important implications for Alaskan salmon fisheries as increased supplies of farmed product have led to declines in prices of both farmed and wild species. In the particular case of Bristol Bay sockeye salmon, falling prices and declining profit margins have led to reduced participation in the limited-entry fishery. This study conducts a formal examination of market interactions between the aquaculture and commercial fishery sectors by adapting the Homans and Wilen (1997) model of regulated open access to the context of restricted access fisheries. The econometric model reveals that limited entry regulations were initially successful in extracting rents from the Bristol Bay fishery; however, these rents were gradually dissipated as a result of overcapacity and the effect of falling ex-vessel prices. The emergence of aquaculture provides a strong rationale in favor of right-based approaches to fisheries management in Alaska.