A general bioeconomic simulation model for annual-crop marine fisheries

A generalized bioeconomic simulation model of annual-crop marine fisheries is described and its use in marine fisheries management is demonstrated. The biological submodel represents the recruitment of new organisms into the fishery, the movement of organisms from one fishing area to another and from one depth to another, the growth of organisms and the mortality of organisms resulting both from natural causes and from fishing. The economic submodel represents the fishing effort exerted on each resource species, the monetary costs of fishing, the value of the harvest and the rent (or excess profits) to the fishery.Basic dynamics of the model results from changes in the number of organisms in the fishery over time, which can be summarized as a set of difference equations of the general form ΔN/Δt = R + I ? E ? M ? F where ΔN/Δt is the net change in number of organisms in the fishery over time, R is recruitment, I is immigration, E is emigration, M is natural mortality and F is fishing mortality. R is a driving variable, whereas I, E, M and F are functions of the state of the system at any given point in time. The model can be run in a deterministic or stochastic mode. Values for parameters affecting rates of recruitment, movement, growth, natural mortality and fishing mortality can be selected from uniform, triangular or normal distributions.Use of the model within a fisheries-management framework is demonstrated by evaluating several management alternatives for the pink shrimp (Penaeus duorarum) fishery on the Tortugas grounds in the Gulf of Mexico. Steps involved in use of the model, including parameterization, validation, sensitivity analysis and stochastic simulations of management policies, are explained.