Vessel sizes and crew sizes vary greatly across states in the

fishery. Vessels fishing from Florida ports have typically been the

smallest. Florida vessels averaged 24.7 gross registered tons in weight

with an average of three crewmen per vessel in 1976. In contrast,

Mississippi vessels have generally been the largest, averaging 73.0

gross registered tons with average crew sizes of nine men.

 Total landings of reef fish in the Gulf of Mexico declined fairly

consistently since the mid-sixties. Combined commercial landings of red

snapper and grouper amounted to approximately 22.5 million pounds in

1965. Preliminary landings data for 1979 report combined landings of

grouper and snapper of only 10.3 million pounds. This decline in catch

of over 50 percent occurred in spite of increased numbers of vessels

operating in the fishery.

 This study represents the first attempt to derive definitive con-

clusions regarding the degree to which economic efficiency exists in the

Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Fishery. The objectives were both theoretical

and applied. Theoretical objectives included the development of a con-

ceputal fishing power function for the GMRFF and an extension of the

basic bioeconomic fishery models to analyze a multi-sector fishery with

variable product prices and pecuniary externalities. In addition, a

means of incorporating the generally unobservable influences of the

resource stock on industry catch levels other than by means of surplus

stock production models was developed. Applied objectives include esti-

mating a system of catch equations wherein factors such as resource

stock effects and productive interdependence were incorporated by means

of stochastic specifications and the estimation of an interrelated