Fisheries Management: Theoretical Developments and Contemporary Applications

Among the problems of the modern fisheries industry is the persistent trend toward the severe depletion of fish stocks, resulting in low catch rates and poor economic returns, along with unnecessary accumulations of capital investments. Dr. Waugh argues that these problems call for effective management procedures based on bioeconomic modelling, which integrates the population dynamics of fish resources with the economic processes of harvesting and marketing. Assessing developments in bioeconomic theory, Dr. Waugh discusses why recent advances have not been fully translated into improvements in the management of marine fisheries. He cites the difficulties of reaching a consensus concerning suitable objectives for fisheries management, as well as the problems of designing a regulatory framework to improve the operation of the industry. To illustrate the utility of bioeconomic modelling, Dr. Waugh presents case studies of two Australian fisheries. A dynamic, stochastic, numeric model is developed for the Exmouth Gulf Prawn Fishery to provide insights into the optimal exploitation of a yearly resource, where fluctuations in recruitment, natural mortality, and catchability are important. The study of the New South Wales Abalone Fishery highlights the difficulties of obtaining the necessary overview of a fishery and the problems in collecting the data required for modelling and management.