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CHAPTER 1
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
Dissertation Format
This dissertation, which adopts the manuscript format, includes this introductory chapter, and three manuscripts, each presented in chapters 2 through 4. Chapters 2 and 3 contain manuscripts that pertain to the management of the Bering Sea crab stocks. Chapter 4 presents a manuscript which focuses on the allocation of water resources in the Snake River basin. A general introduction to Chapters 2 and 3 is given below, followed by a summary of each manuscript and a specification of the contribution by Briand to each manuscript. A general introduction to Chapter 4 is given next, followed by a summary of the manuscript and the contribution by Briand as well.
General Introduction to Chapters 2 and 3
Prior to 1969, Alaskan king crabs were harvested off of Kodiak Island. Declining stocks prompted Kodiak fishermen to move their activity to the Bering Sea, where the Bristol Bay red king crab fishery developed rapidly. To the dismay of fishermen and policy-maker alike, the Bristol Bay red king crab fishery was itself soon confronted with declining stocks. After a peak harvest of 58 968 tons in 1980, the fishery was closed for the first time in 1983, and later in 1994 and 1995.
The Bristol Bay red king crab fishery, as any other fishery, is characterized by the common property resource problem. Common property resources, by opposition to privately owned resources, are resources that anyone has access to. Those resources are exploited on a first-come, first-served basis, and become overexploited as the incentive to preserve them does not exit. There are profits to be made by any catcher or processor that enters the fishery and races to catch the available stock before others do.
The Bristol Bay red king crab fishery is a license-limited open access fishery, managed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADGF) through the Board of Fisheries (BOF). The goal of management is to maintain red king crab stocks at a level that insures the renewal of its productive capacity over time. Crab stocks are assessed prior to the start of each fishing season and a total allowable catch (TAC) is determined based on those estimates and with this management goal in mind. Quantities harvested are monitored throughout the season in order to best meet the targeted TAC.
In-season management of the Bristol Bay crab stocks and targeting of the TAC has become increasingly difficult as already depressed stocks and lower TAC have shortened the seasons. In an effort to facilitate management of the fishery crab stocks, the BOF started implementing pot limits in 1992. The pot limits are intended to mitigate the fleet fishing power and elongate season lengths.
The first part of this research presents two manuscripts aimed at investigating the effectiveness of pot limits in slowing down the fishery and facilitating the management of its stocks. Chapter 2 is a published article in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences: Briand G., Matulich, S.C. and Mittelhammer, R.C. 2001. A catch per unit effort - soak time model for the Bristol Bay red king crab fishery, 1991-1997. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 58: 334-341. Commercial fisheries data were used to statistically estimate a catch per unit effort - soak time relationship characterizing the Bristol Bay red king crab fishery. Using a flexible functional form, the catch per pot was found to be an asymptotic function of soak time. Briand was the main contributor and writer of the manuscript. She performed the econometric analysis under the guidance of Mittelhammer, and wrote the manuscript following the direction of Matulich.
Chapter 3 is a manuscript to be submitted to the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. Previously estimated catch per unit effort - soak time relationships were used in the simulation of the Bristol Bay red king crab fleet behavior. Vessels are modeled as profit-maximizers. Aggregated at the fleet level, individual vessel behaviors determine how long it takes a fishery to catch its TAC. Pot limits, by constraining individual vessel behavior, would slow down the race to fish and elongate that time. Results indicate that pot limits could potentially elongate season lengths, although their effectiveness in doing so is dependent on year-specific catch conditions. Briand will share authorship with Thomas Heckelei, Scott C. Matulich and Ron C. Mittelhammer. Briand is the main contributor of the manuscript. She conceptualized, wrote and ran the simulation model. Briand conferred with Heckelei, Matulich and Mittelhammer on the structure of the model adopted. The manuscript was written under the supervision of Matulich.
General Introduction to Chapter 4
Water is a valuable and scarce natural resource in the western United States. Water projects along the Snake River were initially constructed with the goals of creating agricultural water supplies, hydroelectric power production and increased protection from flooding. Although all those objectives were met, today, society is concerned about the adverse impacts that this development projects have on the surrounding environment and wildlife. Over the past decade, four major salmon runs on the Snake River have received protection under the Endangered Species Act. In 1991, Sockeye salmon runs on the Snake River were classified as endangered. A year later, Spring and Summer Chinook salmon runs were listed as threatened. Wild Steelhead runs followed the Chinook's on the threatened list in 1997. This has led to call for an additional and alternative use for water. Increased instream flows in the Upper Snake River is sought to facilitate the recovery of those salmon runs.
Flow augmentation in the Upper Snake River could be obtained by reducing diversion for agricultural use. The second part of this research considers such alternative flow augmentation scenarios, and assesses their potential impact on the regional agricultural economy. Chapter 4 is a manuscript to be submitted to the Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics. The Snake River Agricultural Model (SRAM) developed by the US Bureau of Reclamation is used to simulate the response of the basin agricultural economy to alternative flow augmentation scenarios. SRAM uses a Positive Mathematical Programming (PMP) framework which slightly differs from the standard PMP approach. The approach used in SRAM is presented in details in this manuscript -- in the objective of subjecting this method to inspection by other scientists and economists. The results of the model simulations provide information on the magnitude and distribution of the economic effects of flow augmentation across the Snake River Basin. A lower bound on the loss in value of irrigated production to the Snake River Basin is estimated at 47.6 million dollars, while the upper bound is estimated at 93 million dollars. The shadow price of water, estimated at the level of irrigation water shortages imposed by each scenario, ranges from $25 to $41 an acre-foot. The average loss of net revenue per acre-foot of water shortage would range from $6 to $10. Briand was the main contributor and writer of the manuscript. She will share authorship with Rob Davis, Joel R. Hamilton, David W. Holland, and Eric C. Schuck who have been consulted on modeling and data issues, as well as on the format of the manuscript.