Shocks and fish stocks : the effect of disasters and policy announcements on listed fishing companies’ market value

Abstract

We investigate the effect of disasters and fisheries policy announcements on the value of large fishing companies. These companies are highly relevant for global fish production and marine ecosystems. Financial markets reveal how investors perceive and appreciate news about disasters and policy announcements. This can affect the financial value of the fishing companies. We use a sample of 87 events and investigate how shocks affect the market value of 42 firms. It shows that earthquakes significantly affect fishing companies’ market returns. Further, it shows that listed fisheries are especially sensitive to disasters and that earthquakes have more pronounced effects than oil spills. Other event types trigger marginally significant responses or none at all.