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An Economic Evaluation of Restricted Entry in Maine's Soft‐Shell Clam Industry
Author(s) -
Townsend Ralph E.
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
north american journal of fisheries management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.587
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1548-8675
pISSN - 0275-5947
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8659(1985)5<57:aeeore>2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - yield (engineering) , fishery , welfare , economic welfare , unit (ring theory) , shell (structure) , business , test (biology) , economics , ecology , biology , engineering , mathematics , civil engineering , materials science , mathematics education , market economy , metallurgy
Approximately one‐half of the coastal towns in Maine manage their soft‐shell clam (Mya arenaria) fisheries by local ordinance. A key feature of these local ordinances is restricted entry for nonresidents. Two tests of the economic success of restricted entry to this fishery were developed. In the first test, results indicated that yield per unit of effort was higher in managed fisheries by 15%. Results of the second test indicated that yield per unit of effort increased as entry was more tightly restricted. Both results support the theory that limited entry improves the economic welfare of fishermen.