ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a bioeconomic analysis of the fishery with a view to analysing alternative management regimes in an economic framework. It describes the background to the management programme by outlining the development of the fishery and its biological and technological characteristics. The development of the fishery began in the early 1960s and followed the typical pattern of open-access fisheries. The fishery has operated as a single-species fishery and the operation requires the use of highly specialized equipment. The group who operate from Batemans Bay form a close-knit community, with their own fishery co-operative and their own philosophy of management. The concept of 'fair costs' was considered an important part of the study since the depressed conditions in the fishery had left overoptimistic entrants in the fishery with unexpectedly low incomes. The yield equation is derived along the lines of the Beverton-Holt model. Biological information, which requires significant field work, was supplied by the New South Wales State Fisheries.
