Effect of Harvesting Alternatives on the Quality of U.S. North Atlantic Bluefin Tuna

The impact of harvest practice choice on four quality attributes (i.e., freshness, fat content, color, and shape) and weight of U.S. captures of bluefin tuna Thunnus thynnus in the North Atlantic is studied. Using ordered-probit and two-limit tobit estimation methods, grades for the four quality attributes of individual fish were regressed against harvest time, area, and gear. Weight of fish was also regressed against the same exogenous variables, this time using ordinary least-squares estimation. The results indicate that the four quality attributes and weight are, in fact, influenced by harvest practices. In particular, the analyses highlight the importance of harvest timing on the grade of all attributes considered. Implications of the results for public management of the U.S. North Atlantic bluefin tuna fishery are discussed.