BIOECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVE SELECTION PATTERNS IN THE UNITED STATES ATLANTIC SILVER HAKE FISHERY

Abstract

In this paper a bioeconomic simulation of the U.S. fisheries for silver hake, Merluccius bilinearis, is presented. The model design combines elements of age-structured population and harvest yield models with economics of the silver hake fishery. The analysis evaluates both biological and economic effects of interest to mangers, such as future yields or rebuilding of parental stock, as well as future revenues and net returns to vessels. The bioeconomic model is used to evaluate the economic implications of tradeoffs between alternative selection patterns in the U.S. Atlantic silver hake fishery. Throughout the study, a selection pattern is defined as the suite of age-specific selection coefficients that are applied to a fish population over time. The results indicate that shifting fishing pressure to younger age classes could result in short-run gains in economic value that may not be sustainable due to longer run declines in biomass, hence lowered fishery yield and value. By contrast, strategies to delay age at first capture may improve economic value over current levels with only modest reductions in short-run fishery yield.Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,