Abstract

Degradation of marine ecosystem due to, among others, eutrophication and climate change, has been of concern for sustainable fishery management worldwide, but studies on associated impacts on fish populations are rare. The purpose of this study is to estimate effects of nutrient loads, which cause eutrophication, on the perch population at the Swedish east coast. To this end, we use a modified Gordon-Schaefer logistic growth model for econometric estimation of perch population on the Swedish east coast, which is based on annual time series data for the period 1970–2014. Regression results from the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square (FMOLS) estimator indicated that phosphorus loads have significant effects on the perch population. A decrease in phosphorus loads by 40% , as suggested by the international Copenhagen agreement, can raise the steady state perch population by 50%.

Keywords

nutrient loads, perch populations, logistic growth, econometrics, Swedish east coast

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