Minimum information management systems and ITQ fisheries management

In 1986 New Zealand reformed its fisheries management regime with the introduction of a rights-based system of management. At the beginning of each fishing season a government agency sets an allowable commercial catch. Individual firms hold an entitlement to harvest a share of the allowable commercial catch. To date, the government agency has relied almost exclusively on the results of stock assessment research when setting the allowable harvest. Excessive reliance on biological data in fisheries management has attracted criticism. An alternative, a minimum information management system, uses information contained in quota prices as a guide to set limits on commercial harvest. This paper examines price formation in one quota market. We find evidence in the data that supports the use of quota prices to guide the setting of limits to commercial harvest. Furthermore, time-series analysis provides a basis for studying the temporal response of changes in asset prices to perturbations in the allowable harvest. The results illustrate how information summarized in quota prices can complement the findings of stock assessment research in fisheries management.