Modeling trip choice behavior of the longline fishers in Hawaii

Fishers' trip choice behavior in Hawaii's longline fishery was analyzed by applying a utility theoretic mixed model (a combination of the conditional and multinomial logit (unordered) models) which accounts for both choice- and individual-specific attributes. The results indicate that fishers demonstrated utility maximizing and risk-averse behavior. They exhibited 'inertia' in switching to alternate trip choices. The stock level of major species, vessel age and size also significantly influenced fisher's trip choice behavior. There was a high proportion of concord between the actual choice and model's in-sample prediction of choices. Trip choice behavior was also simulated under different fleet structure and stock conditions. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.