ACCESS FEES AND ECONOMIC-BENEFITS IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC UNITED-STATES PURSE SEINE TUNA FISHERY

Ideally, fees paid by distant water fishing nations for access to tuna resources in exclusive economic zones would approximate the net econo mic value of the tuna harvested, while leaving fishing operations prof itable, This paper develops a linear programming approach to assess sh ort-run profitability, optimum access fees and net economic benefits f or US tropical tuna purse seiners operating under the South Pacific Tu na Treaty, Results suggest that there is potential for sizable short-r un profits and net economic benefits after payment of an access fee eq ual to the imputed marginal value of the tuna harvested. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.