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Fishing Capacity is a problem in fisheries management. Specifically, fishing capacity is the ability of an array of inputs (capital) to achieve output (catch), and is measured either as effort (or indicators of effort) or actual fish caught; it is the capacity of a vessel or fleet to catch fish. Simply put, overcapacity is the problem of too many vessels (that is, excessive capacity) in too many fisheries, leading almost inevitably to overfishing, thence degradation of fisheries, and finally to dissipation of food production potential (along with permanent ecological degradation). Overcapacity is a type of economic waste, a waste which is aggravated by overfishing. This is especially seen in the form of redundant fishing inputs and the overfishing of most valued fish stocks. The origin of excess fishing capacity stems essentially from the widespread tendency of overinvestment and overfishing under open-access conditions. From a technological perspective, fishing capacity can be defined either following an input or an output orientation. According to a technological perspective input-oriented fishing capacity is defined as the maximum available Capital Stock in a fishery that is fully utilized at the maximum technical efficiency in a given time period, given resource and market conditions (Kirkley and Squires 1999). On the other hand, output-oriented fishing capacity is defined as the maximum catch a vessel (fleet) can produce if inputs are fully utilized given the biomass, the fixed inputs, the age structure of the fish stock, and the present stage of technology (Vestergaard, et al. 2003). Technical efficiency of each vessel of the fleet is assumed necessary to attain this maximum catch. The degree of Capacity Utilization results from the comparison of the actual level of output (input) and the capacity output (input) of a vessel or a fleet. The fishing capacity problem is not only related to the conservation of Fish Stock s but also to the Sustainability of fishing activity. Causes of the fishing problem can be found in property rights regime of fishing resources. Overexploitation and rent dissipation of fishermen arise in open-access Fisheries as was shown in Gordon (1953, 1954). In open-access resources like fish stocks, the impossibility of excluding others provokes the fishermen who want to increase catch to do so effectively by taking someone else' share, intensifying competition. This provokes a capitalization process that leads them to increase their costs until they are equal to their revenue, dissipating their rent completely. Institutional arrangements that encourage fishermen to invest in fishing resources by mean of reducing their catches are required to solve the fishing problem. Various approaches have been taken in order to generate incentives to protect fish stocks. Individual Fishing Quota s or the participation of fishermen in the management (co-management) have been implemented in some fisheries for sustainability. Nevertheless, important difficulties arise in transboundary and / or highly migratory fisheries that require the agreement of several countries for their management. The concept of fishing capacity sets policy-makers the challenge of coordinating the maximum potential of capture of fishing fleets with sustainable levels of harvest. REFERENCES
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