Technical Efficiency and the Role of Skipper Skill in Artisanal Lake Victoria Fisheries

This paper studies technical efficiency and skipper skill (and explores potential proxies), using Tanzanian fishery data for the two major species, Nile perch and dagaa. The relative level of efficiency is high in both fisheries, and several observable variables linked to skipper skill significantly explain the efficiency level. However, given the rapidly depleting fish stocks in Lake Victoria, increased efficiency at the aggregate level is only possible if fishing effort is limited.