We studied how local environmental and socio-economic factors impact fish supply and the price outcome of small-scale fisheries. We exploited day-to-day variations in sea surface temperature (SST) and cross-sectional differences in market distance and age of fishers to measure consumers’ responsiveness to price changes in a small-scale octopus fishery in Japan. Using the estimated demand parameters, we quantified the economic consequences of local socio-environmental factors in terms of changes in fishing revenue and consumer surplus. We found that increasing SST and an aging workforce increase the octopus supply and that consumers are responsive to price changes due to such supply shocks. Our results suggest that increasing SST and an aging workforce have positive net effects on fishing revenue and consumer surplus within the fishery. The octopus fishery provides a temporary source of income in the off-season of other species, smoothing the seasonal income variation of elderly fishers in the community.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	octopus, price elasticity of demand, small-scale fisheries, socio-environmental factors, weather
Research Division:	Economics
Research Group:	Applied economics
Research Field:	Environment and resource economics
Objective Division:	Economic Framework
Objective Group:	Management and productivity
Objective Field:	Productivity (excl. public sector)
UTAS Author:	Jang, HG (Mr Ho Geun Jang)
UTAS Author:	Yamazaki, S (Associate Professor Satoshi Yamazaki)
UTAS Author:	Tinch, D (Dr Dugald Tinch)
ID Code:	142573
Year Published:	2021
Web of Science® Times Cited:	1
Deposited By:	Economics and Finance
Deposited On:	2021-01-27
Last Modified:	2022-08-23
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