The Norwegian winter herring fishery : a story of collapse and technological progress

Abstract

This paper uses data from early 20th century to 1971 to estimate a production function for the Norwegian winter herring fishery, which collapsed in the early 1970s. The focus is on technological progress and the sensitivity of the catch per unit of effort to the size of the stock. This relationship appears to have become stronger rather than weaker as a result of the introduction of the sonar and the power block. The productivity increase appears to have been greatest for the power block, and then for echo sounders and engines used in auxiliary boats. Estimates of stock elasticity indicate little sensitivity of the catch per unit of effort to the size of the fish stock.