Environmental Economics

Go ahead, ask me the difference between striped bass and hybrid striped bass

From the American Fisheries Society:

The book provides a first-ever, comprehensive overview of the biology and management of striped bass and hybrid striped bass in the inland waters of the United States.

The book’s 34 chapters are divided into nine major sections: History, Habitat, Growth and Condition, Population and Harvest Evaluation, Stocking Evaluations, Natural Reproduction, Harvest Regulations, Conflicts, and Economics. A concluding chapter discusses challenges and opportunities currently facing these fisheries.

This compendium will serve as a single source reference for those who manage or are interested in inland striped bass or hybrid striped bass fisheries. Fishery managers and students will benefit from this up-to-date overview of priority topics and techniques. Serious anglers will benefit from the extensive information on the biology and behavior of these popular sport fishes.

Page xi in the preface says this:

The economic value of striped bass (and hybrid striped bass) fisheries is often the bottom line for those justifying expenditures to stock and manage an introduced species with assumed high value to anglers. Whitehead (Chapter 32) provides an analysis of the economics of recreational fisheries for these fish. In some systems, concerns about contaminants can have negative impacts on striped bass or hybrid striped bass fisheries; Jakus (Chapter 33) addresses this issue and outlines an approach for conducting benefit-cost analyses of fish consumption advisories. 

Paul and I both draw shifting demand curves in our chapters.

New Appstate working paper

Ash is doing better about reducing the length of his titles:

Measuring the Impact of the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill on Consumer Behavior: Evidence from a Natural Experiment

O. Ashton Morgan, John C. Whitehead, William L. Huth, Gregory S. Martin and Richard Sjolander

No 13-11, Working Papers from Department of Economics, Appalachian State University

Abstract: A natural experiment setting is exploited to develop a unique dataset of oyster consumer actual and anticipated behavior immediately prior to and following the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Using data from a repeat sample of oyster consumers, a pre and post-spill revealed and stated preference model allows both a short and longer-term response to the spill to be investigated. Findings indicate that, as expected, the BP spill had a negative impact on oyster demand in terms of short-run actual behavior, although spill effects show signs of dissipating several months following the spill. However, by accounting for unobserved heterogeneity in the sample, findings further indicate that short and longer-term spill responses differ across consumer groups. For the larger consumer groups, the negative spill effects continue over the longer-term horizon, while other groups are either non-responsive or increase consumption following news of the spill.

Key Words: Consumer behavior, BP oil spill, revealed and stated preference, latent class analysis

http://econpapers.repec.org/paper/aplwpaper/13-11.htm

We're still thinking about whether this paper would have a chance at the AER. What do you think?

Gamefish economics

Some more commercial vs recreational battles:

A new bill is before the General Assembly that would make three fish species gamefish, raise fishing license prices and provide funds for state fishing observers and dredging.

One of the four actions proposed in the bipartisan bill, filed Wednesday by four inland county representatives and titled H.B. 893, “The 2013 Fisheries Economic Development Act,” is to designate red drum, spotted sea trout and striped bass as coastal gamefish. It also seeks to compensate commercial fishermen for “certain losses due to coastal gamefish designations,” increase Coastal Recreational Fishing License fees, appropriate funds for the marine fisheries observer program and provide funding for dredging shallow draft navigation channels.

If these three species of fish are declared coastal gamefish, they’ll only be able to be taken by recreational fishing. The only fish of these species that anyone will be able to buy, sell, transport or exchange are ones grown in an aquaculture operation, imported from a state without a gamefish designation for them, purchased by a restaurant, or possessed by individuals within the daily recreational limit for their own, personal use, including people who are customers of a guided fishing trip.

via www.carolinacoastonline.com

In 2011, ex-vessel revenue for red drum, spotted seatrout and striped bass was $166,915, $140,535 and $1,164,426. NMFS says says that there were 187,669, 296,966 and 141,407 trips that targeted red drum, spotted seatrout, striped bass in North Carolina in 2011. Red drum and spotted seatrout seem like a no brainers for gamefish status. They are a popular targets and commercial landings aren't impressive (price per pound is less than $2). Striped bass, on the other hand, is a top 10 finfish in terms of ex-vessel revenue and the price per pound is almost $3. 

NMFS also says there were 1.5 million anglers in North Carolina in 2011 (down from about a 2 million average over the previous 10 years). A $1 increase in the recreational license fee could compensate for the lost commercial earnings on the proposed gamefish. Of course, not all of those anglers are targeting the proposed gamefish. NMFS says that the total number of trips in North Carolina was 4,739,744 in 2011. So the trips targeted primarily for the proposed gamefish is about 13% of the total. If 13% of the total anglers were asked to pay a gamefish stamp (required to keep a gamefish), almost 200 thousand anglers, then a stamp fee of $7.5 could compensate the commercial fisherman.  

Friday Beer Post

OK,it's Thursday, and this is about vodka, but being from Bawlmer (Baltimore) I couldn't pass this one up:

On Monday – which was Maryland Day, for those of you not from the Old Line State – Philadelphia Distillers officially launched its new vodka, the Bay, which is flavored with “traditional Chesapeake seasoning,” an apparent relative of Old Bay.

via www.washingtonpost.com

Bloody Mary here I come.

Things I've learned about travel and England

I know many of you are wondering to yourself 'Where is Tim and why hasn't he posted in a few days.  I enjoy Tim's posts so much more than John's."  Well, I'm in England (Plymouth to be precise) for a three day workshop on trends in U.S. and U.K. appraches to ecosystem valuation--I'm representing the U.S. perspective in case you were wondering.  Anyway, I will have more on the workshop later, but for now I wanted to give you things I've learned about traveling to England.  Please keep in mind, as if you needed reminding, I am a stupid American.  

Thoughts (In chronological order):

• Getting up at 3:30AM to catch a flight sucks.
• Getting up at 3:30AM to catch a flight after staying up until 12:00AM the previous night sucks more.
• Getting up at 3:30AM to catch a flight after staying up until 12:00AM the previous night on the night when the the U.S. decides to still observe daylight savings time (or goes off daylight savings time, I can never keep that straight) sucks worse.
• Getting up at 3:30AM to catch a flight after staying up until 12:00AM the previous night on the night when the the U.S. decides to still observe daylight savings time (or goes off daylight savings time, I can never keep that straight) only to learn upon landing at Dulles airport that your flight to London has been cancelled...well you can fill the rest in.
• Twelve hours in an airport is boring.
• I can actually sleep on a plane.
• But I chose to first watch a movie (The Life of Pi), because 1) it was free and 2) I'm stupid.
• At Heathrow airport they make you walk approximately 5K (3.1 miles American--see how I slipped in the European metric there?) to get to customs.  That's a long way after sleeping only 5 hours total in the previous 48.
• Paddington Station does look like the kind of place a cuddly bear in a blue raincoat would really want to hang out.
• People in Paddington Station seem as though they are all in a hurry.
• Everything around Paddington Station looks the same.  It is hard to tell the houses from the hotels from the dentist office.
• Light switches--down is on, up is off? Can we get a little uniformity please?
• You have to turn on the outlets or your computer, cell phone and ipad won't charge.  Just sayin'.
• You have to turn on the outlets?
• Again, Down is on, up is off.
• Even if a shower has a faucet on the wall, and even if you stand to the side, it doesn't mean that if you turn on the water you won't get an unexpected freezing shower from the other facucet on the ceiling.
• The open bus tour is a great way to see London if you only have a few hours.
• Correct that.  The open bus is a great way to see London if you only have a few hours and it is above 0 degrees Celsius (That's 32F for you Americans).  Otherwise, it's freaking cold up there.
• A lot of buildings in London are very old and remind me of that movie Mary Poppins or those books by that Charles Dickens guy.
• Fish and Chips is really just fried fish and French Fries.  I think they named it something fancy to trick us stupid Americans.
• Riding trains is fun.  Especially if you have a backwards seat.
• Sheep.  A lot of them. Just an observation from the window of the train.
• Not sure why England has a reputation for dreary weather with sunsets like this...

Wicked pissah

If you like reality TV and are looking for a show that illustrates overfishing, predator-prey, quality differentiated market pricing, gear restrictions, commercial vs recreational conflicts, dockside fights and awesome giant bluefin, watch Wicked Tuna. I ran across it this weekend and woke up Monday morning in a haze ...

Photograph by Brian Skerry

Do people vote with their feet in fisheries?

From the RESECON listserv:

FAME Ph.D. COURSE: Applied Econometrics for Renewable Resource Economics

University of Southern Denmark, Esbjerg, Denmark, 13-17 May 2013

Centre for Fisheries & Aquaculture Management & Economics. The course is arranged together with University of Kiel

Teachers:

Dale Squires, NOAA and University of California San Diego
Dan Gordon, University of Calgary
Brooks Kaiser, University of Southern Denmark

Content:

This course gives a state-of-the-art view into different econometric topics used in renewable resource economics.

It starts out with time-series analysis, use of structural vs. reduced form models, identification issues, hypothesis and specification tests, panel and dynamic panel data, maximum likelihood and General Method of Moments estimation, etc.

Then the course goes into three applied areas:

·         Bio-economic modeling
·         Valuation: Revealed preferences (mainly hedonic and travel cost)
·         Productivity, including technical change, efficiency, aggregation and separability
·         Spatial resource econometrics

Teaching will be a combination of lectures, exercises and hands-on. Stata will be used as software.

Participation

There is no course fee.

Deadline for enrolment is 22^th April 2013. Please send an e-mail to fame@sdu.dk

News and questions

Updated information about the course can be found at the FAME website under courses.

Questions? Do not hesitate to contact Irene Nygaard at fame@sdu.dk

OK, so this looks great. There is a huge need for further understanding of empirical fisheries economics (i.e., I'd really love to take this course). But, hedonics? There aren't very many hedonic fisheries papers and since commercial fish have prices there is little need for valuation (here is an exception).  On the recreation side there is the hedonic travel cost method but that doesn't draw much interest these days (click here for an exception). So I wonder why the course doesn't consider stated preferences, which has had a big impact in fisheries economics? 

A Common Tragedy

When self-regulation, weak regulation and social norms fail to address overfishing in an aopen-access fishery (like the New England Cod fishery), sometimes drastic regulations are necessary for the long-term sustainability of the fishery...even if the short-term effects are uncomfortable:

... An advisory council voted Wednesday to slash cod catch rates by 77% in the Gulf of Maine, a region roughly the size of Indiana that extends from Cape Cod up through Nova Scotia.

That move, analysts predict, is expected to decimate fishing communities across the region and have a domino effect on seafood processors, wholesalers, distributors and retailers who all make a living off the water.

"The impact will be severe," said John Bullard, the regional administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, who voted in favor of the cuts.

"It wasn't easy, but it was necessary."

A response to low cod stocks, the proposed cuts have left thousands wondering what they will do for work at the start of the fishing season in May.

Scores of fishermen gathered Wednesday in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to hear the vote of the New England Fishery Management Council, which has since submitted its recommendations to the federal government.

"We're doomed, as they say," said fisherman Dennis Robillard, whose voice wavered as he acknowledged that his boat, the Julie Ann II, is now up for sale.

"I'm getting out. It just doesn't make any sense to me anymore."

The council also voted to cut 55% of cod catch rates in Georges Bank, an expansive area near Cape Cod, which was named by a 17th century British explorer after discovering an abundance of the ground fish.

If approved by the Commerce Department, fishermen catch rates will drop to about 3,550 metric tons of cod in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank.

A decade ago, they could net around 20,000.

My first open review (sniff)

From the inbox:

We invite you to take part in a new initiative: the open assessment of a paper submitted to the journal Economics: The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (www.economics-ejournal.org).

Alonso Aguilar Ibarra, Armando Sanchez Vargas, and Benjamin Martinez Lopez have submitted the paper "Economic Impacts of Climate Change on Two Mexican Coastal Fisheries: Implications to Food Security". ...

Now we are seeking experts to assess it. On account of your reputation and interests, you have been identified as a researcher who may be well suited for this purpose. Since the paper is receiving prominent treatment on our website, your assessment would be given prominence as well.

The paper to be assessed can be found in the discussion platform of Economics:

http://www.economics-ejournal.org/economics/discussionpapers/2012-64

Please notice: For the assessment by invited readers we have no particular guidelines. You are free to provide just a few short comments or a more detailed report.

Your assessment should reach us until January 31, 2013.

My review can be found at the bottom of the link. It was a bit of a different experience writing an open review. I had to avoid my usual abusive ad hominem.

Using the Tragedy of the Commons to the benefit of society

In a different context (Asian Carp), I have advocated for taking advantage of the Tragedy of the Commons to eliminate invasive species.  The principle is simple:  Given the proper incentives and open access, anglers/hunters/gatherers will overfish/overhunt/strip a common property resource into non-existence.  Looks like the State of Florida may be figuring this out:

Nearly 800 people signed up for the month-long “Python Challenge” that started Saturday afternoon. The vast majority — 749 — are members of the general public who lack the permits usually required to harvest pythons on public lands.

“We feel like anybody can get out in the Everglades and figure out how to try and find these things,” said Nick Wiley, executive director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. “It’s very safe, getting out in the Everglades. People do it all the time.”

Twenty-eight python permit holders also joined the hunt at several locations in the Everglades. The state is offering cash prizes to whoever brings in the longest python and whoever bags the most pythons by the time the competition ends at midnight Feb. 10.

via www.washingtonpost.com

This is awesome.  Using the power of incentives and the willingness to the many to take advantage of what would regularly be viewed as a market failure may in fact solve a different inefficient allocation of ecological resources.  An odd case of the theory of second best?