Fisheries economics and trade

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Region:    Global

Evaluating the Economics of the Antarctic Krill Industry 

Pew Charitable Trusts - Project Dates:
October 2020 - March 2021

Description of Project:
This project served to understand the current economic conditions of the krill industry operating in the Antarctic, such as costs and revenues of fishing over time by country (Norway, China, Korea, etc.). The project also looked at the role that subsidies play in the profitability of the krill fleets. This information set the baseline in understanding the overall economic costs and benefits of the krill fishery.

To complement this work, the project developed a preliminary understanding of the broader externalities (social costs) the fishery may have on the broader ecosystem through impacts on the krill populations through developing an economic model of the fishery to complement existing ecosystem models of the Antarctic Peninsula, and also to integrate non-market values for the ecosystem to better quantify the economic impacts of the fishery. 

Services Provided:

The research questions answered during the study were:

    • Based on an understanding of the main activities and actors in the CCAMLR Antarctic krill fishery, what are the fishing costs of the industry?
    • Based on an understanding of the global krill fishery, what are the revenues of the industry and how have profits changed over time?
    • What role do subsidies play in supporting the economic viability of the industry, and how does this vary by fleet?
    • What are the values associated with the broader ecosystem and the other species in the ecosystem that interact with krill?
    • What are the broader impacts to the economic value that the fishery has on the ecosystem due to externalities not priced into the fishery already (e.g. krill population effects, predator impacts, habitat impacts), and how might these impacts vary spatially?
    • How do the costs of the industry compare to their profits, and what does that tell us about the viability of the industry in supporting better management and long-term sustainability in the region?