The Impact of Access Restrictions on Fishery Income Diversification of US West Coast Fishermen

Access to most fisheries on the US West Coast was essentially open prior to the mid-1970s when state licenses were first limited for salmon fisheries. Subsequently, licenses to most fisheries on the West Coast have been limited, and the numbers of licenses in many fisheries have been reduced with buy-back programs. More recently, catch share programs, which dedicate exclusive shares of catch to individuals or cooperatives, have been introduced in several sectors of the federally managed Pacific groundfish fishery. As access to fisheries has become more restricted, revenue diversification of West Coast fishing vessels has generally declined. This is a source of concern since diversification has been shown to reduce year-to-year variation in revenue and hence financial risk. However, catch share programs may create more security and stability in vessels' landings, which may offset effects of less diversification. Nevertheless, there may be a tradeoff between the efficiency gains enabled by restricting access and risk-reduction benefits associated with greater diversification.