Bioeconomic Modeling for Sustainable Fisheries Management

Bioeconomic modeling integrates ecological dynamics of fish populations with the economic behaviour of fishing fleets and markets to inform sustainable management. Originating in the mid-20th century with surplus-production models, the field has evolved to encompass age- and size-structured approaches, spatially explicit frameworks and multispecies interactions. These models link fish growth, recruitment and mortality to fishing effort, cost structures and revenue streams, yielding indicators such as maximum sustainable yield (MSY) and maximum economic yield (MEY). Contemporary advances address uncertainties through risk-averse strategies, viability constraints and ecosystem-based objectives, thereby reconciling trade-offs between biological conservation, economic resilience and social welfare. Applications range from single-stock advice and quota setting to mixed-species harvest policies and the design of marine reserves. Global challenges such as climate change, market fluctuations and data limitations have driven the adoption of adaptive control, feedback approaches and data-poor methods. This integration of natural and social sciences has proven essential for aligning harvest strategies with ecosystem health, fleet viability and community livelihoods, offering a pathway towards more resilient and equitable fisheries management worldwide.

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Bioeconomic Modeling for Sustainable Fisheries Management publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in bioeconomic modeling for sustainable fisheries management across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Bioeconomic model: A framework combining biological processes of fish stocks with economic behaviour of fleets to evaluate management outcomes.

Maximum sustainable yield (MSY): The largest catch that can be maintained indefinitely without depleting the stock.

Maximum economic yield (MEY): The level of harvest effort that maximises net economic benefits from a fishery.

Maximum sustainable employment (MSE): A management beacon that prioritises the sustained provision of employment and income in fisheries.

Mixed fishery: A fishery in which multiple species are caught together, requiring integrated harvest strategies.

References

1. Maximum sustainable employment: Adding to the beacons of wild fisheries governance. Fish and Fisheries (2024).
2. The cooperative management of internationally shared fish stocks in a world of instability. Marine Policy (2024).
3. Harvested Predator–Prey Models Considering Marine Reserve Areas: Systematic Literature Review. Sustainability (2023).