Title: Management of the commercial prawn fishery in Tanzania

A simple bio economic model of the commercial prawn fishery in Tanzania was developed to assess the fishery and determine the policy that will maximize economic rents and ensure sustainable biomass growth. The model indicates that the fishing effort that will bring the fishery into optimal level is between eight and 13 vessels. The appropriate policy that will maximize economic benefit and sustain shrimp biomass growth is to reduce fishing effort from the current 26 fishing vessels to 13. At this fishing effort the fishery attains long term maximum net present value of more than US$ 39.5 million. Adjusting the average number of fishing days to 300 while reducing the fishing effort to eight vessels increases the net present value to US$ 60.4 million.