Option pricing in a cap-and-trade market: Evidence from New Zealand fisheries

We present empirical evidence of option pricing in a created market to address stock externalities in a common-pool resource. Using unique data on New Zealand’s quota fisheries, we show that tradable quota can carry an option premium of over 10 percent (i.e., the quota price is relatively higher at the start of the fishing year). By exploiting differences in species that are exported fresh and frozen, we show that an option premium arises only if a fisher can earn higher profits by aligning harvesting with high market prices. Since quota represents a forward-looking option to produce throughout the year, the quota price accounts for the potential value of using quota later in the year, when it may be more profitable.