Economic Impacts of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument Expansion on the Hawaii Longline Fishery

This study examines the economic impacts of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM) expansion on the Hawaii longline fishery, using difference-in-differences (DID) models with fixed effects. It evaluates the impacts of the PMNM expansion on catch per unit effort (CPUE) and fishing revenue for the group of vessels that had a high portion of their fishing effort inside the Monument Expanded Area (MEA) prior to the expansion in August 2016. The results show that the PMNM expansion caused the CPUE of this group of vessels to decrease by 7%. Revenue per trip decreased by 9%, $3.5 million, during the first 16 months of post-expansion period. One likely reason for the negative impacts is that longline fishers who used to fish inside the MEA have been displaced from their traditional fishing grounds are still in the process of becoming more efficient in finding areas with comparable productivity.

Chan HL. 2020. Economic impacts of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument expansion on the Hawaii longline fishery. Marine Policy. 103869.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2020.103869.