Project number: 2019-026
Project Status:
Current
Budget expenditure: $248,572.00
Principal Investigator: Stephanie F. McWhinnie
Organisation: University of Adelaide
Project start/end date: 31 Jan 2020 - 27 Feb 2022
Contact:
FRDC

Need

The development of indicators to measure and monitor the performance of fisheries against economic objectives continues to challenge fisheries managers. To date economic metrics have focused on various measures of profitability, and this has been limited to relative few fisheries due to the costs and time involved in collecting the information.
The use of productivity analysis provides an alternative approach to measure and monitor performance in fisheries. It is a broad area of economic analysis that largely estimates how the level and combination of inputs used by fishers affects their level of output, revenue or profitability. From this, the level of efficiency within a fishery can be determined, and how this efficiency level changes over time can be monitored. The role of management in influencing efficiency can also be directly determined. Measures of capacity utilization also provide information on the level (and changes in) excess capacity, which can be used to develop a proxy measure for the optimal fleet size.
Many productivity measures can be derived from available logbook data, while more detailed measures can be obtained from the full economic data (e.g., socio-economics of fishers, vessel characteristics, environmental conditions). These approaches can also provide information about fisher behavior, such as targeting ability in multispecies fisheries, and their response to changes in price and costs, as well as provide information on what is driving changes in profitability (e.g., prices, costs or management). In addition, appropriate measures can be identified to assist managers bridge commercial and other fisheries sectors.
The application of these techniques in Australian fisheries has been limited, and their ability to provide cost-effective information useful for management has not been fully examined. Outside fisheries, productivity has proven to be a useful economic indicator and its potential in Australian fisheries needs to be assessed. This project will meet this need by asking: In what contexts do indicators of productivity and productivity change provide a useful addition to other measures of fisheries economic performance.

Objectives

1. To review the use of productivity analysis as a performance indicator and in management assessment in fisheries and assess the contexts in which it provides additional insights for effective management.
2. To demonstrate the use of productivity measurement and analysis as a performance indicator in three Australian fisheries.
3. To develop a guide for managers to illustrate how productivity analysis can provide relevant and cost-effective economic performance indicators and how these can be used to inform management decisions.

Seminar

Authors: Presented by Stephanie McWhinnie Sean Pascoe Eriko Hoshino and Peggy Schrobback
Seminar • 2022-05-25

Summary

View the webinar at https://youtu.be/DGDYhk3rITQ

 

The development of indicators to measure and monitor the performance of fisheries against economic objectives continues to challenge fisheries managers. 

The purpose of this webinar is to provide an overview of productivity analysis and the role it can play in supporting fisheries management. In particular, the webinar illustrates how productivity analysis can provide information about relevant and cost-effective economic performance indicators for fisheries. 

Three case studies - Commonwealth Northern Prawn, SA Spencer Gulf and West Coast Prawn, and Queensland Spanner Crab - are used as examples of what can be measured using typical Australian fisheries data.

Project products

Guide • 2022-05-25 • 8.48 MB
2019-026 Guide to Using Productivity Analysis in Fisheries Management.pdf

Summary

The purpose in this guide is to provide an overview of productivity analysis and the role it can play in supporting fisheries management. In particular, the guide will illustrate how productivity analysis can provide information about relevant and cost-effective economic performance indicators for fisheries.
Final Report • 2022-08-23 • 3.21 MB
2019-026-DLD.pdf

Summary

This report brings together a body of knowledge from over 30 years of Australian and international research and illustrates how productivity analysis can provide additional insights for fisheries management. Our comprehensive review identifies a maturing of the literature from asking questions simply about ‘what’ towards ‘how’ and ‘why’, with key gaps remaining. Using the findings from the review to inform our methodological approach, we analyse three Australian case studies to illustrate: how different metrics can be used to identify productivity in fisheries; the consistency of these metrics; how they relate to other measures of economic performance; and, where relevant, the impact of productivity measurement on management change. The case studies are the Commonwealth Northern Prawn Fishery, the South Australian Spencer Gulf and West Coast Prawn Fisheries, and the Queensland Spanner Crab Fishery.
Film/Video

Summary

View video at https://youtu.be/pb6buEp8FUE

This video features the topic of Measuring, Interpreting and Monitoring Economic Productivity in Commercial Fisheries.

Film/Video • 2022-08-04

Summary

View video at https://youtu.be/N0pbJYsiDWY

 

This video features the topic of Measuring, Interpreting and Monitoring Economic Productivity in the Commonwealth Northern Prawn Fishery.

Film/Video • 2022-08-04

Summary

View video at https://youtu.be/NEoE5MlQKGs

 

This video features the topic of Measuring, Interpreting and Monitoring Economic Productivity in the South Australian Spencer Gulf and West Coast Prawn Fisheries.

Film/Video • 2022-08-23

Summary

View video at https://youtu.be/jlrk-acYieg

 

This video features the topic of Measuring, Interpreting and Monitoring Economic Productivity in the Queensland Spanner Crab Fishery.

 

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