is reasonable since factors such as weather and sea conditions can

impair or prevent fishing.

 The scale elasticity for the fishing power function in equation

(75) is estimated to be 1.4236. The implication of this elasticity is

that a proportionate increase of average vessel and crew size by some
 1.4236
factor, X, would increase fishing power by X .4 Thus, the fishing

power function exhibits increasing returns to scale. The effects on

fishing power of increasing average vessel size and crew size from 10 to

100 percent are shown in Figure 11. The result of increasing returns in

the fishing power function are somewhat surprising. A priori, returns

to scale in the neighborhood of unity were anticipated. This expecta-

tion rested mainly on the definitional nature of the fishing power



 2.5
 o 2.3
 0
 2.1

 S1.9 -
 iu 1.7

 1.5
 4-I)

 S 1.3

 1.1
 Proportionate Increase
 7 lin Average Crew and
 .1 .3 .5 .7 .9 1,1 Vessel Size

 Figure 11. Estimated relative fishing power for proportionate
 increases in average crew size and vessel size3



 In Figure 11, average crew size and vessel size are assumed to
take an initial value of 1. While no actual vessels exhibit such input
proportions, choosing such levels alters only the scale of the figure.