TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY OF FISHERY IN THE COASTAL REGIONS OF RUSSIA .

Russia is one of the top five countries for the extraction of aquatic bioresources. Although the contribution of fishing to the gross value added is insignificant, no more than 0.3% of the national level, for residents of the coastal regions of the country, the effective use of aquatic bioresources determines the level and quality of their life, guaranteeing earnings, supporting the traditional way of life. A comparative analysis of technical efficiency in 14 Russian coastal regions was carried out in order to identify the most effective fishing practices for the first time. The selected regions account for 94 % of the total harvesting of aquatic bioresources and 98 % of the shipped product (volume of work performed by fishery) of the country. The study used the data envelopment analysis (DEA) method. The choice of this method is due to the fact that it does not require the parametric specification of the production function and allows to use indicators with different units of measurement. Production value of catch by each region in 2016 is selected as the output variable; while depreciation of fixed assets and quantity of fishery workers used by each region in 2016 are chosen as the two input variables. The average level of technical efficiency of fishing in the country was 0.6, so there is a reserve in improving the use of resources by 40%. In seven regions the level of technical efficiency is below average and in four regions it is above average. The analysis showed that two regions use resources the most efficiently: the Kamchatka Region, the Magadan Region. There is no correlation found between the level of technical efficiency and the capture level. To achieve the maximum level of fishing efficiency, the following directions are recommended. The number of employees should be reduced in six regions. In all inefficient regions it is necessary to increase the cost of shipped product. The largest increase is required in the Primorsky region – more than twice, the smallest – in St. Petersburg, only 4.5% [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]