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The Application of a Simple Economic Technique to Fisheries Management Problems
Author(s) -
HAILS A. J.
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
aquaculture research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.646
H-Index - 89
eISSN - 1365-2109
pISSN - 1355-557X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2109.1978.tb00236.x
Subject(s) - net present value , stocking , value (mathematics) , fish <actinopterygii> , investment (military) , fishery , cash flow , selection (genetic algorithm) , fisheries management , present value , control (management) , biology , environmental resource management , business , natural resource economics , economics , computer science , microeconomics , fishing , finance , production (economics) , management , machine learning , politics , artificial intelligence , political science , law
In the field of fisheries management workers are often confronted with a choice of management methods. For example, should annual requirements for fish for stocking purposes be purchased from external suppliers or should the manager invest in a fish farm and raise his own fish; should chemicals be used to control weed growth or should an investment be made in a mechanized weed cutter? The final decision, after impractical alternatives have been eliminated, is often an economic one and a basic economic technique is described here which allows the manager to make an economically sound decision. The technique involves the application of a discounting method (the particular one described is the Net Present Value method) which has the advantage of taking into consideration the timings of the cash outflows of the alternative projects thus bringing the two projects to a common baseline (their NPV's) for comparison. Two examples are given which show the application of the method to fisheries management. It is emphasized that the selection of an appropriate interest rate is important since the choice indicated by the results is sensitive to changes in interest rate.