The impact of illegal harvesting on time preferences and willingness to participate in shellfish resource management

• Published in: Resource and energy economics 2018-11, Vol.54, p.226-236
• Main Authors: Alló, Maria, Loureiro, Maria L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Illegal harvesting; Shellfish management; Time p
• ISSN: 0928-7655; 1873-0221
• DOI: 10.1016/j.reseneeco.2017.10.006

•We assess preferences of shellfish gatherers for a conservation management program.•We assess the role of time preferences on conservation options.•We also look into the effects of illegal fishing on time preferences.•We find that ilegal fishing increases impatience of shellfish gatherers considerably. The shellfish sector suffers from overexploitation of many species. The aim of this paper is to analyze through a discrete choice experiment (DCE) the preferences of shellfish gatherers with respect to a proposed recovery program; assessing the role of time preferences and the impact of illegal harvesting. In terms of time preferences, results show that shellfish gatherers are quite impatient with regards to their extraction levels (with a discount rate between 7 and 11% for a period of 12 months, depending on the conservation scenario considered). These results can be a consequence of the risky environment in which fishers operate. Furthermore, it was found that the concerns about illegal harvesters increase the shellfish gatherers’ discount rates. These results imply that sustainability of the resources is in danger.