Parametric and Semiparametric Efficiency Frontiers in Fishery Analysis: Overview and Case Study on the Falkland Islands

Provision of adequately valued individual transferable quotas and effort quotas is essential for sustainability and profitability of a fishery. Despite possible misleading consequences for policy-making, the extent to which fishery inefficiency estimates and rankings may depend on the model used, has received less attention. This paper first reviews determinants of fishers’ behaviour under regulated harvesting, with the Falkland Islands as focus case. Next, a ‘best scenario’ long-term equilibrium framework is outlined, under a regime of transferable effort quotas and fishing seasons as implemented in the Islands, followed by an overview of panel data stochastic frontier models, with specific regard to fisheries. To test hypotheses and impact of a mainly ITEQ-based regime for Falkland fisheries, two parametric and one semiparametric model rely on different assumptions on frontiers and inefficiency scores. Relative to companies operating in Falkland seas, regression estimates highlight the relevance of economies of scale, vessel ownership, and climatic factors among others, with improved cost effectiveness, and revenue efficiency frontier-enhancing/inefficiency-reducing effects, following the implementation of the new regime. Within either modelling approach, inefficiency differs marginally across regression specifications, but mismatches in levels and rankings emerge between parametric and semiparametric models. Relative to southern hake catches by Falkland trawlers, the semiparametric approach suggests upward shifts in output frontiers under the new fishery regime, with inefficiency scores substantially unaltered between two functional specifications.