Incorporating market information in the management of the US North Atlantic bluefin tuna
By Josué Martínez-Garmendia, James L. Anderson and Michael T. Carroll
ABSTRACT
The US North Atlantic bluefin tuna is a highly valued fish under controversial management. Most of the US catch is exported to the Japanese sashimi market. The pricing system for the US North Atlantic bluefin tuna fish is markedly distinct from other products within the seafood industry. Each fish is graded for a number of attributes and based on the results, then, priced accordingly. The fish attributes which this pricing typically relies on are freshness, fat content, color, and shape. In fact, hedonic price modeling indicates a statistically significant relationship between the price of an individual US North Atlantic bluefin tuna and these four attributes, in Japan. Freshness, fat content, color, and shape are known to be dependent on season, area, and method of capture. Models including qualitative variables provide the relative importance of each of these capture variables in the actual grading of each attribute for each fish. Using this information, a more market conscious management of the US North Atlantic bluefin tuna is possible. In fact, this type of market-based public management would allow to extract the highest possible return from this valuable and scarce resource.
KEYWORDS: bluefin tuna, hedonic price, attribute grading, capture
alternatives, market-based management.
 Seafood Markets and Fishery Management: Conceptual and Empirical Issues
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