A Conceptional Analysis of Dynamics and Production in Bioeconomic Models

Harvesting functions and stock dynamic equations in age-structured bioeconomic models are generalized in order to incorporate density dependence. Using this generalization, anything from completely uniformly distributed fish to extreme schooling can be analyzed. The classical Beverton--Holt model comes out as a special case of the generalized model. The generalization can be applied both for simulation as well as for optimization purposes given appropriate software. Conceptual analysis indicates that pulse fishing seems to become less and less economically profitable as we move from uniformly distributed fish to schooling species. This has important implications for how fish stocks ought to be managed. Copyright 2010, Oxford University Press.