Size-price dependency in the market for whitefish

Summary

Seafish analysed data on sales of cod and haddock at Peterhead auction between 2006 and 2015 to estimate how much fish size influenced price at auction. Further analysis was done to estimate how a lower average size of landed fish could impact fishing revenues. The study found strong evidence of size-dependent pricing for both species and estimated that if selectivity is not improved, fishermen operating whitefish vessels could earn £21,000 less in gross annual fishing income from cod and haddock landings, compared to pre-landing obligation fishing revenues. The study suggests that if selectivity is improved, fishermen could achieve a higher overall value for their landings than if they land the same proportion of small fish that they were catching before the landing obligation was implemented.

Author

• Ana Witteveen,
• Hazel Curtis,
• Arina Motova

Publication date

01 October 2017