Applications of Dual Theory in Fisheries: A Survey

Abstract: This paper surveys empirical studies that utilize the theory of the firm and dual theory to reveal economic and technological conditions of fish harvesting firms. The dual approach is highly suitable for revealing disaggregated structures in fishing processes that consist of several inputs and outputs. Building on the functional forms of cost, profit, or revenue functions, the dual approach has improved our understanding of technological production conditions based on data at firm level. This is done by addressing a variety of different technological issues for multispecies harvesting firms, such as transformation between species, substitution between fishing inputs, economies of scope and scale, industrial organization, etc. Moreover, the approach has been useful as a means of providing information in public management of resource exploitation by dealing with various regulatory regimes, i.e., input management, output management, and prospects for future regulation. The purpose of this paper is to review theoretical issues and empirical results with respect to fishing gear and regulatory regimes.