Skippers, spotters and seiners: Analysis of the “skipper effect” in US menhaden (Brevoortia spp.) purse-seine fisheries

Differences in weekly catch and fuel efficiency are not fully accounted for by variations in environment, effort, or vessel characteristics in the US gulf and Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia spp.) fisheries. In four ports analyzed, some skippers consistently had higher weekly catches, and in two of the four ports some skippers had greater catch per unit of fuel burned. Results are impressive considering these are fisheries where one might expect the skipper effect to be weak: vessels are all very similar, the fishery is vertically integrated, and sophisticated fish finding equipment is used, including spotter planes. The results suggest that skipper skill is of primary importance in catching fish; this may be generalizable to most purse-seine fisheries. These findings have importance for fisheries management, insofar as they demonstrate that skipper skill may contribute significantly to variation in catch per unit effort and therefore should be taken into account both in the context of stock assessments, and fleet reduction programmes.