Skipper skill or managerial ability plays a central role in the harvesting
of fish and fishing power. Examining the influences of managerial ability o
n catch rates, however, may be complicated, since managerial ability is gen
erally unobservable. Using panel data on production activities in the Pacif
ic Coast trawl fishery, we examine the use of the fixed- and random-effects
panel data models to depict managerial skill by intervessel differences, r
epresenting differences in technical efficiency. The random-effects product
ion model is selected over the fixed-effects model. We conclude that skippe
r skill is more related to finding fish, dealing with unforseen events, and
handling inclement weather than it is to managing the economic inputs.