Measurement of Capital Depreciation within the Japanese Fishing Fleet

Data on the average assessed market valuation for insurance purposes of Japanese fishing boats were applied to the regression model developed by Hall. There are significant differences in movements of the index of embodied technical change among different tonnage classes of boats within both wooden and steel hull boats. The index of embodies technical change does not move in a geometric pattern. There are significant differences in depreciation patterns among different tonnage classes for both wooden and steel hull boats. The null hypothesis of geometric depreciation was rejected for some tonnage classes but not rejected for others. The null hypothesis of stable depreciation patterns over the periods studied was rejected for some classes but not rejected for others. The first-year depreciation is not significantly different from the rate in succeeding years.