Access fees and economic benefits in the Western Pacific United States purse seine tuna fishery

Ideally, fees paid by distant water fishing nations for access to tuna resources in exclusive economic zones would approximate the net economic value of the tuna harvested, while leaving fishing operations profitable. This paper develops a linear programming approach to assess short-run profitability, optimum access fees and net economic benefits for US tropical tuna purse seiners operating under the South Pacific Tuna Treaty. Results suggest that there is potential for sizable short-run profits and net economic benefits after payment of an access fee equal to the imputed ‘marginal value of the tuna harvested.