Resources / Fishing / Cost of production
Fishing · Financial · Breakeven

Cost of production

$41/kg landed

Total operating cost per kilogram landed — quota lease, fuel, crew, bait and overheads. It is your breakeven, independent of what the market pays, and the figure that decides whether it is worth putting to sea.

Worked example · Operating cost per kg landed
$41 / kg Quota lease $17 Fuel $9 Crew $6 Bait $4 Overheads $5
Operating cost per kg landed
The benchmark

Quota lease and fuel dominate the cost structure of most rock lobster operations; total cash cost per kilogram landed is highly sensitive to the lease market and diesel price.

FRDC ↗
What it signals

With quota lease often the single biggest line, cost of production is driven as much by the access market as by fishing. Watching it against beach price shows how much headroom the operation really has and how exposed it is to a lease-cost or fuel spike.

Data required to calculate
Quota lease cost$Fuel, bait & crew$Lobster landedkg

Silo pulls each of these from the sources the operation already uses, and keeps the figure current automatically.

How to improve it
01

Lock in quota lease early to avoid peak in-season rates.

02

Cut fuel and bait per kilo through efficient fishing.

03

Land the full quota so fixed costs spread over more kilograms.

Questions & answers

What is cost of production?

Total operating cost per kilogram landed — quota lease, fuel, crew, bait and overheads. It is your breakeven, independent of what the market pays, and the figure that decides whether it is worth putting to sea.

What data do you need to calculate cost of production?

You need: Quota lease cost ($), Fuel, bait & crew ($), Lobster landed (kg). Silo pulls each of these from the sources the operation already uses and keeps the figure current automatically.

What is a good cost of production benchmark?

Quota lease and fuel dominate the cost structure of most rock lobster operations; total cash cost per kilogram landed is highly sensitive to the lease market and diesel price.

How do you improve cost of production?

Lock in quota lease early to avoid peak in-season rates. Cut fuel and bait per kilo through efficient fishing. Land the full quota so fixed costs spread over more kilograms.

More fishing guides

All fishing KPIs →

See this KPI live for your own operation.

Connect the software, spreadsheets and records you already keep, and Silo keeps every benchmark on this page current automatically.

Book a demo