Optimal fisheries management instruments under biological uncertainty (2001)

Individual transferable quotas (ITQs) have been identified as the preferred management tool for Commonwealth fisheries (Commonwealth of Australia 1989). This paper compares the effectiveness of ITQs as a management control with the current system of input controls in the northern prawn fishery using an integrated biological and economic model of the fishery, embedded in a stochastic optimisation framework to simulate optimal management of the fishery over any given planning horizon. The results indicate ITQs can be a successful management tool in the NPF, particularly in the presence of effort creep. However, the benefits from moving to an ITQ system are highly dependent on the rate at which the capital structure in the fishery is rationalised. Notwithstanding this result, other management strategies such as seasonal or area specific closures may also augment ITQs with additional benefits.