"This report provides the first comprehensive estimate of productivity change in U.S. catch share fisheries. In all, annual MFP was estimated for a total of 20 catch share programs or sub-components of catch share programs using a base period Lowe index. Of the 20 programs, 13 included pre-catch share baseline conditions. In all but three of these 13 cases, MFP improved or was improving during the first three years after program implementation. In the three instances where MFP had declined relative to the baseline during the first three years, the common denominator was a substantial increase in biomass resulting in changes in catchability that offset any changes that may have been made in the ratio of outputs to inputs used to harvest fish. For programs that have been in existence at least since 2007, productivity gains during the first three years were positive, and more often than not, MFP continued to improve after the first three years of program implementation"--Conclusions.

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)

United States