Optimal Utilization of a Variable Fish Supply

Successful exploitation of a fishery depends not only on the quantity of fish caught and processed, but also on the steadiness of supply. Too much variability in catch means that supplies will sometimes be inadequate, while at other times there will be too many fish to process, and the market will become glutted. Fisheries managers must therefore be prepared to make a trade-off between maximization of mean yield and minimization of the variance of this yield if the fishery is to function optimally. To do this they must understand the economic trade-offs that enter into the catching, processing, and marketing aspects of the fishery. This paper presents a strategy for coupling biological and economic models and illustrates how these questions can be quantified and integrated to arrive at a bioeconomically optimal management strategy.Key words: optimality, variability, fisheries management, sustainable yield