The Economics of Over-Fishing

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Abstract
The problem of determining the optimal economic strategy for exploitation of a fish population when the stock has been driven to a low level and is threatened with extinction is analyzed. Two very simple models are investigated in detail and only very simple optimization techniques are used. Whether the optimal strategy, that which maximizes present value, leads to conservation or extinction depends on economic factors which are partially determined by public policy, such as tax structure. In some economic situations the optimal strategy will always lead to extinction, and in these cases a policy of conservation requires direct government intervention through quotas and other restrictions; in other cases the choice between conservation and extinction can be affected by purely economic policies. This type of analysis may make it possible to identify the most efficient methods of encouraging conservation while minimizing economic dislocation and direct government control.

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