Ecolabeling Seafood for Sustainable Production: Implications for Fisheries Management

Abstract

Demand for environmental quality of a fishery product and its effect on the incentive to manage fisheries sustainably is analyzed using bioeconomic modeling. The paper examines the effectiveness of an ecolabel in achieving sustainable fisheries production under open-access, limited-access and optimally managed fisheries with price premiums for ecolabeled products that are either constant or a function of sustainability criteria. In addition, the paper investigates the effect of placing an ecolabel on the rate of recovery of an overfished stock.