An economic assessment of Gulf of Mexico red snapper management *policies

The Gulf of Mexico red snapper fishery has been experiencing a serious problem of declining stocks since the 1970s. The decline is attributed to overfishing by red snapper fishermen and the incidental bycatch of juvenile red snapper by shrimpers. To rebuild red snapper stocks, government fishery agencies have employed a series of policies aimed at restricting red snapper harvest. Assessing these policies is crucial for a sustainable fishery; yet, there is no complete study assessing effects of these policies using integrated biological and economic models of red snapper and shrimp fisheries.;This study provides an assessment of red snapper fishery management policies employing a general bioeconomic fisheries simulation model (GBFSM). The GBFSM is modified to account for biological and economic interdependencies within and across the shrimp and red snapper fisheries. Price flexibilities, red snapper catch elasticity, and consumer surplus were estimated and incorporated into the GBFSM. The following red snapper policies were also incorporated into the GBFSM: a bycatch reduction device (BRD); an increased total allowable catch (TAC); a decreased bag limit; a split TAC/closure; and a combined policy (implementation of all the individual policies simultaneously).;The overall results indicate that the individual policies are not as preferable as the combined policy. The BRD policy rebuilds the spawning stock rapidly and to a greater level than the other policies; yet, it generates the smallest total net surplus (TNS). The increased TAC policy generates the largest TNS, but only marginally rebuilds the spawning stock. When these policies are jointly implemented as in the 1998 current policy, the spawning stock and the TNS are both increased to higher levels than those under the base policy. The improvement in the results are a result of the BRD policy rebuilding the spawning stock to a higher level and the increased TAC policy allowing the red snapper fishermen to harvest a greater share of this increased spawning stock. This increase in the harvest also leads to an increase in the TNS. Although this policy is favorable to the red snapper fishery, it is unfavorable to the shrimp fishery.