Towards Economic Sustainability or Unsustainability: The Case of Artisanal Fisheries in the Bay of Bengal

Globally, excess capacity and overexploitation of fisheries have become growing concerns because of the associated fishing, social, political, and economic consequences. This study estimates the degrees of capacity utilization and technical efficiency, and the factors affecting the capacity utilization of the multispecies gill-net vessels operating in the Bay of Bengal. It is based on data collected from two marine fishing areas in Bangladesh and uses data envelopment analysis and Tobit regression. Our results indicate low degrees of capacity utilization and high degrees of technical inefficiency. However, by holding production at an efficient level, unbiased capacity utilization is close to full capacity. A high degree of excess capacity exists, and more than one-third of vessels could be decommissioned. Furthermore, vessel capacity, number of trips, and trip duration affect capacity utilization. An implication of our results is that efficient management of vessel capacity might be helpful in controlling harvest and reducing overexploitation.