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The impact of economic and regulatory factors on the relative profitability of fishing boats: A case study of the seaweed harvesting fleet of Northwest Brittany (France)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 June 2004

Frédérique Alban ,
Pascal Le Floc'h  and
Jean Boncoeur
Frédérique Alban
Affiliation:
CEDEM-IUEM, Université de Bretagne Occidentale, 12 rue de Kergoat, CS 93837, 29238 Brest Cedex 3, France
Pascal Le Floc'h
Affiliation:
CEDEM-IUEM, Université de Bretagne Occidentale, 12 rue de Kergoat, CS 93837, 29238 Brest Cedex 3, France
Jean Boncoeur
Affiliation:
CEDEM-IUEM, Université de Bretagne Occidentale, 12 rue de Kergoat, CS 93837, 29238 Brest Cedex 3, France
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Abstract

This paper addresses the question of the relative importance of economic and regulatory (administrative) factors on the profitability of various components of a fishing fleet. The argument is that, while the official purpose of most regulatory measures is resource conservation, these measures may significantly influence the relative levels of incomes generated by various components of the fleet. When a large part of fisheries management is under the control of fishermen themselves, this illustrates how the endogenous generation of rules by groups of users may affect both economic efficiency and equity. The analysis relies on a field survey of a small-scale inshore fishing fleet of the Northwest part of Brittany (France),which provided data for simulations concerning the impact of various factors on the profitability of boats. According to the results of these simulations, two regulations, concerning the cost of access to some resources and the control of fishing effort, play a significant role in the difference of profitability observed according to boat size. At a time when the ageing of the fleet opens the question its renewal, this might influence durably the dynamics of the fishery.

Keywords

Boat profitabilityVessel sizeRegulatory measuresSeaweed harvesting fleet
Type
Research Article
Information
Aquatic Living Resources , Volume 17 , Issue 2 , April 2004 , pp. 185 - 193
Copyright
© EDP Sciences, IFREMER, IRD, 2004

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References

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