When is it Optimal to Delay Harvesting? The Role of Ecological Services in the Northern Chesapeake Bay Oyster Fishery

Despite decades of rebuilding efforts, the population of oysters in the Chesapeake Bay has fallen to historically low levels. We develop a novel bioeconomic model which includes the value of ecological services provided by oysters in situ to determine the optimal length of a harvest moratorium and a subsequent harvest rate that will maximize the net present value of the oyster resource. Not surprisingly, steady-state stocks and optimal harvest rates are increasing and decreasing in ecological service values, respectively. The results also suggest that instituting a harvest moratorium and limiting harvest effort in the fishery can increase the net present value of the resource more than effort limitation alone.