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European Union has agreed to implement the landing obligation for all species subject to quota in order to ensure long term harvest in a healthy marine environment, implying a prohibition on discarding species subject to quota that can legally be caught and landed under Community fisheries legislation. Landing obligation has been progressively implemented since 2014 and entered fully into force in January 2019. This work analyses the potential economic effects of the landing obligation on the Spanish fleet fishing in the Celtic Sea. The profitability of the fleet is evaluated in the years preceding the entry into force of the European regulation and compared with the profitability obtained since its implementation. The results show a significant economic impact of the landing obligation on small and micro-enterprises. The first years of partial application of the regulations coincide with a drop in diesel prices that helps smaller companies maintain a high profitability. However, once diesel prices recover, the profitability of micro-enterprises falls to negative values when the application of the discards ban is complete, leading to the closure of many companies. This scenario of effort reduction and control of overexploitation of the fishing grounds, positive from an environmental point of view, nevertheless suggests the need for some kind of institutional support to mitigate the socio-economic damage generated by the landing obligation and to improve the gear selectivity of the fleets concerned, allowing them to adapt to the new management scenario. Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED431C2018/48 Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED431E2018/07 Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED481B2018/095 Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. RTI2018–099225-B-100

Aquaculture production of turbot in Galicia (Spain) has grown significantly in the last 35 years. The evolution of the sector and the variations in its production technologies are the result of the...

Galicia is the most important fishing region in Spain. Nearly 50% of the volume of catches and of the national fishing fleet are concentrated in this region. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the fishing sector had the status of an essential sector and was not forced to stop its activity by the national Government. However, its economic performance has deteriorated in 2020. This article aims to analyze the impact of the pandemic on the extractive fishing sector in Galicia. For this purpose, the performance of the main economic and financial variables of the 246 companies that constitute this industry has been studied. The companies pertain to different extractive sectors (the national, offshore and large-scale fleets) and are in 9 different areas (Vigo, Pontevedra, Arousa, Muros, Fisterra, Costa da Morte, A Coruña-Ferrol, Cedeira and A Mariña). The results of the analysis show that the 9 fishing zones share a generalized negative trend but that there is heterogeneity in the results. Among the most determining factors are the predominant fleet extract, the target species caught, or the perception of public subsidies.

The United Kingdom has played a prominent role in the Common Fisheries Policy&mdash, by contributing to fisheries activities and also by participating in the design of the fisheries policy. Brexit is certain to have significant repercussions for European fisheries activities and their management. This study analyses the views held by companies linked to the fisheries sector in Galicia (fishing, wholesale trade, canned fish, aquaculture, and fish processing), one of the European regions most affected by Brexit given that more than 80% of the Spanish fishing fleet working on UK waters is located in this region. We adopt a quantitative methodology based on the Pearson&rsquo, s chi-squared test, the likelihood ratio, and the Fisher&rsquo, s exact test for analyzing opinions about various topics. Results indicate that companies engaged in marine fisheries or trade in fishing goods hold a mostly negative view of Brexit&rsquo, s effects. In total, 30% of those surveyed anticipate that Brexit will have negative consequences for EU workers in UK fishery companies, a slightly higher percentage of these respondents expect the United Kingdom&rsquo, s exit from the EU to depress Spain&rsquo, s foreign trade, over half of those surveyed perceived Brexit as resulting in the adverse scenario of reduced access to fisheries&rsquo, resources and were in favor of reformulating the current system of total allowable catches (TACs) and quotas among the remaining post-Brexit member states. Most respondents also agreed that Brexit will have negative repercussions on vessels of the Galician fleet operating under the British flag. Our statistical analysis identifies a significant relationship between negative attitudes and the firm&rsquo, s size for fisheries&rsquo, sectors as a whole, however, no relation between those attitudes and firm size or turnover is identified when the particular fishing companies&rsquo, perceptions are evaluated.

In 2018, Spain produced more than 70% of the European aquaculture turbot. Over the past three decades, several efforts have been made to cultivate turbot on the Atlantic, Cantabrian and Mediterranean coasts of Spain. However, although the Cantabrian turbot sector has been moderately successful, it has been the Atlantic region that has consolidated its hegemony over the years. The social-ecological system framework is an appropriate instrument to identify the key variables that have displayed heterogeneous behavior across regions, given their transdisciplinary, adaptive and multiscale nature. In this study, a comparative analysis is made through the first-tier categories (Resource Systems, Governance Systems and Actors) and their second-level variables, which present differences between regions. The results show that both the ecological and social systems have performed better in the Atlantic region. Its adequate environmental characteristics, together with the incentives generated by the actors of the governance system, promote interactions that build scenarios conducive to the success of the Galician turbot sector.

In 2012, the Argentine government expropriated 51% of the shares of Yacimientos Petrol&iacute, feros Fiscales S.A. (YPF) from the Spanish company Repsol S.A. The YPF was nationalized without prior compensation, violating Argentina&rsquo, s own laws and, consequently, the institutional framework in force in the country. As a consequence, the country&rsquo, s reputation deteriorated and, although there were several contacts with multinational enterprises to become YPF&rsquo, s new partner, the investment climate was affected, making it really difficult to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). In order to attract these investments after the expropriation, the Argentine government understands that it is necessary to settle the legal proceedings with Repsol. In order to avoid an imperfect judicial procedure of long duration and with high transaction costs, both parties reached a settlement agreement. This paper presents an institutional economic analysis of expropriation, contextualizing it within the Argentine institutional framework and studying the trajectory of the nationalization of YPF. In this way, it seeks to contextualize institutionally the Argentine government&rsquo, s decision and the impact it has had on both the FDI and the credibility of the country&rsquo, s institutional framework. It also analyzes how the resolution of the conflict occurs through an agreement between the parties that avoids the judicial process, given its high transaction costs.

espanolEn el presente estudio se aborda el analisis de la percepcion de las empresas vinculadas a la pesca marina, comercio al por mayor, fabricacion de conservas de pescado, acuicultura marina y procesado de pescado gallegas. Se realiza un analisis de percepciones en materia de comercio de mercancias, movilidad de trabajadores, Politica Exterior Pesquera y acceso a los recursos pesqueros. Asimismo, se realiza un analisis inferencial mediante la consideracion de tablas de contingencia en funcion de los factores extraidos. Los resultados reflejan una percepcion mayoritariamente negativa al proceso Brexit por parte de las empresas de las ramas de actividad Pesca Marina y Comercializacion de productos pesqueros, siendo dicha percepcion particularmente significativa en las empresas de menor dimension. EnglishThis study addresses the analysis of the perception of Galician companies linked to marine fishing, wholesale trade, fish canning, marine aquaculture and processing. An analysis of perceptions of trade in goods, worker mobility, foreign fisheries policy and access to fishery resources is carried out. Inferential analysis is also performed by considering contingency tables based on the factors extracted. The results reflect a majority negative perception of the Brexit process by companies in the Marine Fisheries and Marketing branches of fishery products, with this perception being particularly significant in smaller size companies.

espanolLa necesidad de planificar el espacio maritimo surge de la competencia por el uso de un recurso escaso (el espacio maritimo). Se asume que la planificacion ayuda a resolver este tipo de conflictos, posibilitando mayores beneficios economicos para la sociedad. A pesar de ello, una primera revision de la literatura economica nos ofrece pocos ejemplos de estimacion de los impactos economicos ligados a la Ordenacion Espacial Marina (OEM). En este trabajo se presenta una revision sistematizada de la literatura economica al respecto y se analizan los resultados obtenidos en funcion de diversos criterios de clasificacion. EnglishThe need to plan the maritime space arises from the competition for the use of a scarce resource (the maritime space). It is assumed that the planning helps to resolve this type of conflicts, enabling greater economic benefits for society. In spite of this, a first review of the economic literature offers few examples of estimation of the economic impacts linked to the Marine Spatial Planning (MSP). In this paper, a systematized review of the economic literature is presented and the results obtained are analyzed according to various classification criteria.

Galicia is a Spanish region which has been one of the leading producers of mussels around the world for decades. The institutional framework of the Galician floating raft culture in the mussel sector set up a scenario of institutional stability and equilibrium, in which new licenses were not granted and a winning coalition maintained the “status quo” from 1976 until 2008. Nevertheless, the two most important legal changes since the 90s took place in Galicia as of December 2008: the Fisheries Act 11/2008 and Act 6/2009 amending the former. Both Acts revoked the institutional framework provided by the Galician Fisheries Act of 1993. This paper presents an institutional economic analysis that studies the impact of the legal changes of 2008 and 2009 on the institutional foundations of the property rights system regarding the mussel floating rafts, and it constitutes a relevant case study on institutional stability in aquaculture production. The paper analyzes how the duration of property rights was extended with the “start counting from zero” formula and no change of status quo took place. The New Institutional Economics approach has provided the paper with a solid theoretical framework.

This paper analyses the institutional foundations of the mussel production sector in Galicia, which is one of the leading producers in the world. After demonstrating the importance of the sector and presenting the theoretical framework and an historical introduction, the paper formulates an agenda of institutional analysis topics from a positive perspective. This agenda includes the problem of the common pool, the role of the State, the legal norms, the property rights system, the organisation of the sector, the rules and public policies and the status quo. This paper presents a case analysis dealing with the relationships between institutions and economic organisation, and furnishes evidence and relevant knowledge for the elaboration of comparative analysis in the economics of natural resources.

The Spanish aquaculture sector has undergone a rapid and continuous growth becoming one of the biggest European producers. A wide range of species are farmed and, among them, the sea bass, sea bream and turbot make a significant contribution to the total of the Spanish fish farming output. In this paper, we analyse and predict the medium-term trend of the production and price level for the three leading species previously mentioned. The results obtained show a significant increase in the production of sea bream, sea bass and turbot. The results show also a slight decrease in the sea bream average price, a stable trends for the sea bass and increasing prices for the turbot.

Institutional analysis is among the most significant research programs in the economics of fisheries management, and it increases our understanding of the relationships between the institutional framework and the fishing sector. Galicia is one of the most important fishing regions in the European Union, and this paper analyses the Galician fishing sector from a new institutional economics approach. The paper studies several topics that characterise the relationship between institutional rules and fisheries management in Galicia. As a result, we demonstrate new institutional findings on fishery governance through the study of the recent Galician experience.

After 2006, with the publication of a Green Paper on Maritime Policy, the European Commission laid the groundwork for a global maritime policy on the basis of sustainable development. The guiding principle behind these initial reflections was the need to establish universally applicable guide regulations which must accompany those specific to each activity or field of interest and be compatible with them in order to ensure governance and favour sustainability. A more detailed review of activities and the problems they entail enable us not only to understand the immense economic scope of the proposed objective but the magnitude of the problems faced as well. With this scenario as a reference, in this article we focus on analysing the institutional aspects regarding some significant activities with the aim of assessing the scope and feasibility of the EU proposal.

In recent decades, the New Institutional Economics has brought about the “return of institutions” to the economic mainstream, and institutional theory and analysis have been developed from Ronald Coase’s notion of transaction costs and Douglass North’s view on institutions. The Nobel Prize award in Economics to Oliver Williamson and Elinor Ostrom in 2009 has pointed out the relevance of the new institutional approach. Natural Resource Economics has included the institutional determinants of the management of natural resources into its research agenda. In this sense, the advances of the New Institutional Economics allows the development of institutional analysis in the field of the Economics of Natural Resources, such as Elinor Ostrom’s work has shown. This paper presents an integral and updated perspective of the foundations of the New Institutional Economics that constitute a set of theoretical inputs for the analysis of institutions and governance in the management of natural resources.