Determinants of economic efficiency: A case study of Rapa whelk (Rapana venosa) fisheries in the South Black Sea

The inevitable increase in the numerical and technological capacity of fishing fleets in developed and developing countries has major implications for the management and distribution of limited natural resource capacity, as well as the ecological and socio-economic sustainability of fisheries. It is important to determine these effects to make the right decisions in fisheries management. This study aims to assess the fishing capacity, technical efficiency, scale efficiency, and capacity use in a specific subset of Rapa whelk fishers, those in Turkey's Black Sea. Economically efficient and inefficient boats were also compared in the study. The data obtained through face-to-face interviews with 452 boat owners constitute the main data of the study. Data were collected about the economic efficiency of the boats for one year. While economic efficiency ranged between 0.27 and 1, the average value was found to be 0.60. It was concluded that the age of the owner, the education period, and the length of the fishing boat positively affected economic efficiency (p<0.05). In the boats studied, technical efficiency scores were greater than economic efficiency scores. This suggests that rather than technical information, fishers require information on selecting the optimum input combination at the data cost level.