The consequences of trade openness on the availability of seafood resources: Methodology and evidence based in the case of Turkey

In this study, we investigate whether the trade in …sh and …sh prod- ucts contributed to the decline of 57 …sh species observed from 1996 to 2009 in Turkey. Our aim is to test the theoretical prediction that trade liberalization in the presence of open access resources can lead to a re- duction in harvest at the long-run due to stock depletion. To this end, we carry out an instrumental variable estimation for a panel data model. Estimation results reveal that the harvest supply curve bends backward, i.e., the resource is overexploited, no matter if the …sh is exported or not.