A mathematical model for the study of the impact of small commercial fishing on the biodiversity of artificial reefs

Artificial reefs are an essential tool for restoring and maintaining biodiversity in degraded marine areas. They make it possible to prevent trawling and, at the same time, create an environment suitable for restocking of several species of fishes. These submerged structures are compatible with small commercial fishing that could have a negative impact on the biodiversity in the artificial reef environment. Fishing policies should be considered in order to make fishing activities sustainable. We propose a mathematical model of artificial reefs environments. The model can be used to study the impact of small commercial fishing on the biodiversity of an artificial reef and to predict the effects of different fishing policies. The model is developed on the basis of observations made in two protected marine areas located in central Italy where artificial reefs have been realized

Sea-Scale Agent-Based Simulator of Solea solea in the Adriatic Sea

DISPAS is an agent-based simulator for fish stock assessment developed as a decision making support for the sustainable management of fishery. In this work we enlarge the underlying model of DISPAS allowing it to model and simulate a multi-scale scenario. We retain the currently available spatial scale, able to represent a limited average region of the sea, and we introduce a new spatial macro-scale, able to represent the whole sea. At the macro-scale a single agent represents an area of five square nautical miles and manages groups of fish in different age classes. The interactions among the macro agents permit the exchange of individuals of each class among neighbor areas. A case study regarding the Solea solea (Linnaeus, 1758; Soleidae) stock of the northern Adriatic Sea is used to show the intended approach, taking into account the available data, coming from fishery independent scientific surveys