We are pleased to present this special issue of Marine Resource Economics consisting of selected papers from the North American Association of Fisheries Economists (NAAFE) Forum held in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA from May 11 to 13, 2011. The seven selected papers cover a wide range of fisheries economics areas, reflecting the general, yet rather diverse, theme of the Forum “The Economics of Conflict and Co-existence in an Increasingly Crowded Ocean.” We are grateful to the Forum's sponsors, the Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research (JIMAR), University of Hawaii at Manoa, and The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, for making the Forum a reality. Special thanks also go to Dr. Rita Curtis, NOAA Fisheries, for her generous financial support, which covered the page charges for the issue. Finally, we thank the authors for their contributions, the reviewers for their expert assistance, and Barbara Harrison for her editorial support. We are sure you will enjoy perusing this special issue.

This study investigates the relative geographic stability of fish landings over time on the West Coast of the United States. Special attention is given to how that distribution was affected by a federal policy to improve fishery efficiency through a program to buyback limited-entry groundfish trawl permits. The findings indicate that programs that promote efficiency may also affect where fish are landed. The 2003 buyback was found to have an effect on the geographic distribution of landings by reducing the geographic dispersion of industry participants. This shift in landings is likely to have economic impacts on communities where landings are reduced though upstream and downstream third party impacts.

JEL Classification Codes: R11, R15, Q22

We use individual transferable quota (ITQ) consolidation in New Zealand's commercial fishing to illustrate three different methods of measuring consolidation: the Herfindahl Hirschman Index (HHI), conditional Gini Coefficients, and conditional Lorenz curves. The Lorenz curve allows for conditional specification over stratified groupings, which yields straightforward interpretation and illustration of overall inequality for more nuanced interpretations.

JEL Classification Codes: Q22, Q28, C4

This article examines the entrepreneurial artisanal fisher's problem of choosing a set of targets that minimize variability in net trip revenues given limited inputs and the carrying capacity constraints of an artisanal vessel in an open-access fishery. Specifically, it explores the fishing behaviour and targeting options of fishermen in Dominica, with the objective of identifying catch-sets that can reduce the variance in the mean net income earned by artisanal fishers over a fishing season. The objective therein is to enable fishers to earn a more stable income, thus reducing their vulnerability to economic shocks. This is explored within the context of a risk tradeoff model for mean-variance portfolio optimization. Literature supports the view that the high degree of variability in mean catch rate contributes to the unprofitability and vulnerability of fishers and may also encourage their use of unsustainable harvesting practices in an attempt to improve fishing net revenue. The article also estimates the efficacy of targeting strategies employed by artisanal fishers, as evidenced by the ability to land the ex ante target species. The results show that there exists catch portfolios capable of reducing variance in net trip revenue across a fishing season returns for all sites, and that some fishers are in fact able to effectively land ex ante targets, which are important to overall reduction in the variability of trip net revenue. This suggests that there is scope for increasing the profitability of artisanal fishing activity in Dominica with existing vessels and gear operations of the artisanal fleet.

JEL Classification Codes: G11, C61

This article reports on an application of choice experiment methods to anglers targeting blue marlin and other pelagic species in Hawaii. Data was collected through the Hawaii Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistical Survey in 2006. Based on 480 completed surveys, respondents were dominantly male (94.2%), Asian (51.6%), had relatively high incomes ($79,816), and 59.6% owned boats. Profit orientation included fishing for profit, expense fishing, Holoholo (purely recreational), Kaukau (subsistence fishing), and trophy fishing. Multinomial logit models were estimated and parameters on trip cost, marlin catch, ahi weight, the summer season, and a nonconsumptive attribute, seeing marlin, were all highly significant and of the expected sign. Part-worth willingness to pay (WTP) for catching a blue marlin was estimated at $521 for the charter group and $276 for those on private boat trips. Marginal value per pound for ahi is similar for both groups, $0.96/pound for charter and $0.92 for private boat.

JEL Classification Codes: Q26, Q22, D12

A non-linear AIDS model was used to estimate substitution patterns across seafood categories at the US retail market level. Results indicate that demand for catfish, crawfish, clams, and salmon products is elastic, suggesting that consumers are sensitive to price changes. In contrast, demand for shrimp and tilapia, mostly imported products, is price inelastic. US consumers would “tolerate” an increase in tilapia price compared to other seafood categories, especially catfish. Tilapia and salmon are found to have the most negative effects on purchases of other seafood products. Catfish is a strong substitute for tilapia; while tilapia is not a strong one for catfish. Promotions play significant roles in seafood purchases, especially among import-dominant products like shrimp, tilapia, and salmon. Future research should first be conducted at the metropolitan level, highlighting market specificity implied by consumers' demographics; secondly, it should be done at disaggregated levels for each seafood category, product form, and product size.

JEL Classification Codes: Q22

This article uses weekly national store-level scanner data acquired from A.C. Nielsen Inc., to analyze demand for 14 unbreaded frozen seafood products in the United States (U.S.). While utilization of scanner data for food demand analyses has become increasingly popular in the U.S., just a few studies of seafood demand have utilized scanner data. We used a log linear version of the Paasche's index with lagged shares as the price index in an Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS) model and modified the intercept of a standard AIDS model to account for effects of the season and the lagged demand. Own-price, cross-price, and expenditure elasticities vary across species considerably, which highlights the importance of studying consumer demand behavior at disaggregated levels for seafood.

JEL Classification Codes: C32, D12, Q21, Q22

JEL Classification Codes: Q22, Q28, A29