Incorporating Economics into Fisheries Science to Improve Recreational Fisheries Management: An Applied Example from the Gulf of Maine

This research combines an economic model of angler behavior with an age-structured model of Atlantic cod and haddock in the Gulf of Maine to examine the effects of alternative management scenarios on angler effort, catch, expenditures, and welfare and stock conditions. Atlantic cod and haddock are the primary species targeted by anglers in the Gulf of Maine and in 2010 the recreational fishery was responsible for approximately 28% of total cod catch and 50% of total haddock catch.

An economic survey conducted from 2009-2010 is used to construct a predictive model to estimate the effects of policy changes on angler behavior. The economic sub-model is paired with an age-structured model of Gulf of Maine cod and haddock, which is based directly on the most recent stock assessment. The coupled model is dynamic and contains feedback loops; recreational bag and size limits combined with the stock levels of both species affect angler effort, catches, discards, and welfare. Recreational fishing mortality is combined with exogenously determined commercial fishing mortality to project future population levels. This ecosystem approach to management provides insight into the short- and long-run effects of alternative fisheries policy on both the economic and environmental health of this important recreational fishery.