Managing transboundary stocks of small pelagic fish

Pelagic fishery resources are those found in the upper layers of the sea, and account for about 50 percent of the world's marine catch. Most abundant are the small pelagic species, found in highest concentrations off the coast of Chile and Peru. Overfishing is the main threat to the conservation of biodiversity in the world's oceans. Having open access to fish and treating fisheries as common property resources are the main factors that lead to overfishing. Knowing that the unharvested portion of transboundary pelagic stock may not be available in the future, countries have no incentive to reduce their fishing effort to the level required to sustain the fish stock. This paper, with special emphasis on the industrial pelagic fishery of northern Chile-southwestern Peru, tests the hypothesis that appropriate joint management of transboundary fish stocks not only can help avoid overexpolitation of the resources but also can increase rents and benefits. The centerpiece of the analysis consists of a formal model integrating biotechnical, economic, and policy factors of resource management to determine the characteristics of neighboring fishing industries competing for use of a transboundary fish stock. The analysis combines standard concepts of natural resource economics, biological population dynamics, and resource management to determine the net social benefits generated by a transboundary fish stock under alternative management strategies. It offers a mathematical model that can help fisheries administrations attain both biological sustainability and economic efficiency, and calculates the present values of net benefits under five alternative management strategies. The results support the hypothesis that joint management of transboundary stocks can not only help prevent overexploitation of fishery resources, but can also generate higher rents and benefits.