Price Determination of Reef Fish in the Gulf

This study examines market integration between US Gulf reef fish species under catch share management and imported counterparts, the latter of which constitute approximately 80% of total market supply. Using Johansen cointegration analysis, we assess the extent to which domestic and imported snappers and groupers share a common price determination process. Our findings suggest that the law of one price holds for most species pairs, indicating a high degree of market integration. The results imply that even heterogeneous, species-diverse fisheries such as reef fish are increasingly subject to global market forces. This highlights the potential vulnerability of domestic fishers to import competition, particularly under individual transferable quota management, which has been shown to stabilize supply but may also expose local fisheries to greater external price pressures.