Direct allocation of resources and cost-benefit analysis in fisheries: an application to pacific whiting

Allocating among competing users is one of the most difficult and vexing problems in fisheries management, and direct allocation under open access is especially contentious, since groups gain only at the direct expense of others. This paper evaluates the direct allocation of Pacific whiting (Merluccius productus) among competing offshore and onshore user groups that fish off the coast of Washington, Oregon, and California in the USA, the process of achieving that allocation, and the value of economic analysis in the process. The paper also discusses the technique of cost-benefit analysis for direct allocation of total allowable catches among competing user groups and access to the resource. The paper concludes with observations on the role of economic analysis for fisheries management decisions.