Economic status and policies affecting the shrimp industry in the Gulf of Mexico /
The economic status of the Texas shrimp-harvesting sector is analyzed based on cost and revenue data for the period 1987-92. Texas ex-vessel shrimp prices have remained low and stable while shrimp operating costs have been increasing. During the 1987-92 period, shrimp operations in Texas had an annu...
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| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
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[Place of publication not identified] :
[publisher not identified] ;
2000.
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| Online Access: | http://proxy.library.tamu.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=731966341&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=2945&RQT=309&VName=PQD |
| Summary: | The economic status of the Texas shrimp-harvesting sector is analyzed based on cost and revenue data for the period 1987-92. Texas ex-vessel shrimp prices have remained low and stable while shrimp operating costs have been increasing. During the 1987-92 period, shrimp operations in Texas had an annual loss averaging $3,875/vessel. A descriptive analysis of the long-run fishery behavior shows that pounds of shrimp landed, vessel length, fuel price, vessel age, and abundance of shrimp are significant factors that affect the cost of shrimp operations. Second, the bioeconomic impacts of sea turtle conservation policies on the shrimp industry in the Gulf of Mexico are analyzed using a general bioeconomic fisheries simulation model (GBFSM). The GBFSM was extended to include the biological sub-model for the Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) sea turtle. The policies examined for the conservation of the Kemp's ridley sea turtle include the use of turtle excluder devices (TEDs) on shrimp trawls and different levels of nest protection. Results show that the Kemp's ridley sea turtle population, in terms of mature female turtles, will rebuild even without the use of TEDs. Although TEDs may accelerate recovery of the Kemp's ridley turtle population, it does so at a much greater cost. The total welfare cost of using TEDs, in terms of present value producer and consumer surpluses to the Gulf shrimp industry, is $39.4 million. This implies that better nest protection would be more effective in the long run than the TED regulations in restoring the Kemp's ridley population. Finally, the economic costs of the policy requiring bycatch reduction devices (BRDs) on the shrimp harvesting sector and consumer sectors in the Gulf of Mexico were analyzed using simulation modeling. As the survival rate of shrimp lost through the fisheye BRD decreased, gulf-wide losses, in terms of changes in producer and consumer surplus from the base simulation, increased. The impact of BRDs in terms of total economic losses to society ranges from $44.9 to $65.7 million when 50% and 0% of the shrimp that escape through the BRD survive, respectively. |
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| Item Description: | Vita. "Major Subject: Agricultural Economics". |
| Physical Description: | xiii, 180 leaves : illustrations ; 28 cm. Issued also on microfiche from University Microfilm Inc. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (leaves 105-114). |