Productivity changes and management systems in small-scale fisheries

Abstract

While productivity is an important measure of economic performance by commercial fisheries, the productivity of small-scale fisheries has largely been unexplored. To address this research gap, we quantify the productivity and performance of shellfish production for on-foot shellfishing and shellfish farms in Galicia (NW Spain) – as two similar economic activities subjected to different fishery management regimes. Thus, while shellfish farms are privately managed, on-foot shellfishing is managed on the basis of a common or shared resource. The paper analyses production, prices, and income for four shellfish species – common cockle (Cerastoderma edule), grooved carpet shell (Ruditapes decussatus), Japanese clam (Ruditapes philippinarum), and pullet carpet shell (Venerupis corrugata) – for 2011–2020 in an area where both forms of production co-exist. This research shows that, since mollusc species are homogeneous from the point of view of buyers, regardless of the production system, any possible differences in productivity between the two activities cannot be explained through prices. Rather, three-quarters of the productivity difference is due to the intensity of capital investment, proxied by the cultivated seed cost, which is different for on-foot shellfishing and shellfish farms. Endogenous dynamics in the behaviour of shellfish farms lead them to be more efficient than on-foot shellfishers in exploiting shellfish resources, due to incentives that do not exist for on-foot shellfishing.