Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Improving Utilization of the Queen Conch (Aliger gigas) Resource in Colombia

Improving Utilization of the Queen Conch (Aliger gigas) Resource in Colombia A bioeconomic model was developed to investigate optimal exploitation strategies for the queen conch (Aliger gigas) resource in the Colombian Caribbean. Ecological and economic indicators substantially improved when the status quo management system based on sustained annual harvesting of the resource at a rate of 8% of the total exploitable biomass was replaced with a rotational harvesting scheme whereby fishing was conducted at a higher exploitation rate (30%), following a four-year closure period. Closures allowed queen conch biomass to recover and accumulate undisturbed, leading to an 11% increase in the average standing density of adult conchs and a 26% increase in the net present value of the fishery, as compared with the status quo scenario. Multiple sources of improvement associated with rotation of fishing areas were identified, such as the harvesting of larger quantities of conch meats and pearls as well as reduced fishing costs. In addition to an informed assessment of the economic potential of the fishery under rotational management, the model provides a useful benchmark to estimate the gains associated with further reductions in illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, which has brought the fishery to the brink of collapse in recent years. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Marine Resource Economics University of Chicago Press

Improving Utilization of the Queen Conch (Aliger gigas) Resource in Colombia

Download PDF
27 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/university-of-chicago-press/improving-utilization-of-the-queen-conch-aliger-gigas-resource-in-w7BU7EB8cm

References (81)

Publisher
University of Chicago Press
Copyright
© 2021 MRE Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved.
ISSN
0738-1360
eISSN
2334-5985
DOI
10.1086/715522
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

A bioeconomic model was developed to investigate optimal exploitation strategies for the queen conch (Aliger gigas) resource in the Colombian Caribbean. Ecological and economic indicators substantially improved when the status quo management system based on sustained annual harvesting of the resource at a rate of 8% of the total exploitable biomass was replaced with a rotational harvesting scheme whereby fishing was conducted at a higher exploitation rate (30%), following a four-year closure period. Closures allowed queen conch biomass to recover and accumulate undisturbed, leading to an 11% increase in the average standing density of adult conchs and a 26% increase in the net present value of the fishery, as compared with the status quo scenario. Multiple sources of improvement associated with rotation of fishing areas were identified, such as the harvesting of larger quantities of conch meats and pearls as well as reduced fishing costs. In addition to an informed assessment of the economic potential of the fishery under rotational management, the model provides a useful benchmark to estimate the gains associated with further reductions in illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, which has brought the fishery to the brink of collapse in recent years.

Journal

Marine Resource Economics – University of Chicago Press

Published: Oct 1, 2021

There are no references for this article.