IMPACTS OF RECREATIONAL FISHING ON THE COMMERCIAL SECTOR: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF ATLANTIC MACKEREL

There are often tensions between recreational and commercial uses of marine fisheries. The Atlantic mackerel along the coast of the United States and Canada is one such fishery. Although recreational catch is only a small percent of total catch, it has been suggested that recreational use be incorporated into a broad management scheme for the fishery. This paper measures the costs domestic commercial fishermen incur from the recreational harvest of Atlantic mackerel. The results indicate that the domestic commercial fishery, which takes only a small portion of total commercial catch, would see no significant gain from limiting recreational fishing. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the AERE Workshop on Sport and Commercial Fisheries. Participants at that conference, anonymous referees, and Peter Berck offered valuable suggestions which improved this paper. Any errors are my own.