The economic impact of proposed TED regulations on Texas shrimp fishermen : a dissertation

Abstract

Shrimp fisherman trawling in the Gulf of Mexico and south Atlantic inadvertently capture and kill turtles which are classified as endangered species. Recent legislation requires the use of a Turtle Excluder Device (TED) which, when placed in the shrimp trawl, prevents turtle mortality. The impact of the TED on shrimp production is not known. Analysis of TED regulations using an annual firm level simulation model indicated that the average gulf fleet had a low probability of being an economic success before inacting the regulations. An assumption that the TED regulations result in decreased production aggravated this condition, while an analysis assuming a positive impact on production slightly improved the economic viability of the firm. When an analysis was conducted on a monthly basis considering industry wide interaction between landings per vessel one time period and available shrimp stock the next, the impact of the TED regulations was mitigated. A decrease (increase) in effective effort each time period, as the result of using a TED, increased (decreased) available stock succeeding time periods and reduced the negative (positive) impact upon production. In both analyses, a negative impact of the TED on shrimp production resulted in a decline in the economic well-being of the firm. Likewise, a positive impact improved the firm's economic well-being.