REDUCING THE RISK OF FISHERY RESOURCE DISASTERS: A BIOECONOMIC APPROACH TO SUSTAINABLE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT1 |
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| Authors: | Jason K Levy D Marc Kilgour Keith W; Hipel |
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| Institution: | Respectively, Assistant Professor, Western Washington University, Huxley College of the Environment, Department of Environmental Studies, 516 High Street, Bellingham, Washington 98225;Professor, Department of Mathematics, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario N9B 3P4, Canada;and Professor, Department of Systems Design Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada (E-Mail/Levy: ). |
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| Abstract: | Abstract: Recognition is growing that fisheries must be both ecologically and commercially sustainable. The bioeconomic models proposed herein constitute an analytic framework capable of integrating the ethics and Societal values associated with fisheries preservation. Specifically, we focus on the normalized optimal (equilibrium) fish population, z*, a dimensionless variable representing biomass as a proportion of environmental capacity. We model z* as a function of (a) the dimensionless "bionomic growth ratio", γ, which is the ratio of the discount rate to the intrinsic population growth rate, and (b) the preservation coefficient, Ω, which is the ratio of the preservation value (a measure of Society's value for the stock) to price, assuming that the population growth rate and intrinsic growth rate are fixed. It is shown that increasing Ω significantly impacts z*, particularly for moderate values of γ (2  γ 4). Finally, stochastic population models are used to analyze the risk of a fish stock collapse due to harvesting pressures. The bioeconomic models and simulations herein described improve the accuracy and reliability of maximum sustainable yield management. |
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| Keywords: | fisheries management optimal control theory simulation stochastic models risk assessment sustainability |
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