Saturn A Framework For Integrated Analysis In Fisheries Management

Abstract

This paper presents a model in support of management decision making and planning in commercial fisheries. The purpose of the model is to facilitate integration of biological (e.g., stock assessment) and socioeconomic considerations for the review and evaluation of quantitative impacts of alternative management strategies. The spreadsheet model shell allows ease of use and flexibility in exploring and evaluating interannual effects of change on the fish stock, or the viability of prosecuting gears, and the processing sector. The deterministic model is divided into linked modules that facilitate exploratory analysis. Linkages occur in a “top-down” manner, whereby each stage of the analysis decomposes a macro view of the fishery over an annual long-term planning period down to a micro view of the stock or of individual operator performance on a monthly basis over a single season. Illustrative case studies, based on the 2J3KL Northern cod fishery and the 4WX herring fishery, demonstrate the flexibility of the model and its capability to develop and evaluate the integrated impact of management scenarios towards improved fisheries management.

Résumé

La présente communication porte sur un modèle de planification et de prise de décisions de gestion dans le secteur de la pêche commerciale. Ce modèle permet de faciliter l’intégration de considérations d’ordre biologique (p. ex.: évaluation des stocks) et socio-économique en vue de l’examen et de l’évaluation de l’incidence quantitative de différentes stratégies de gestion. Le système générique du modèle de tableur est facile à utiliser et suffisamment souple, puisqu’il permet d’explorer et d’évaluer les conséquences, d’une année à l’autre, de l’évolution des stocks de poisson, de la viabilité des embarcations de pêche et du secteur du traitement du poisson. Le modèle déterministe se subdivise en modules connexes qui facilitent l’analyse exploratoire. Les liens sont “descendants” et chaque étape de l’analyse décompose une vue globale de la pêche sur une période de planification à long terme d’un an en une vue individuelle des stocks ou du rendement de chaque embarcation de pêche pendant une seule saison et ce, sur une base mensuelle. Des études de cas fondées sur la pêche 2J3KL à la morue et sur la pêche 4WX au hareng illustrent la souplesse du modèle, de même que ses possibilités quant à la conception et à l’évaluation de l’incidence globale des différents modes de gestion visant à améliorer la gestion des pêches.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

D.E. Lane

Daniel Lane is Professor, Faculty of Administration, and Director of the Master's Program in Systems Science at The University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario. Dr. Lane holds a B.Sc. (Mathematics) from St. Francis Xavier University, a M.A.Sc. (Management Sciences) from the University of Waterloo and a Ph.D. in Management Science from The University of British Columbia. He has published in Operations Research, the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, and the European Journal of Operational Research. His research interests include the application of simulation modelling, decision analysis, and mathematical programming in the bioeconomic evaluation of strategies for fisheries management.

R.L. Stephenson

Rob Stephenson is a research scientist at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Biological Station in St. Andrews, New Brunswick. He received his B.Sc.(Hons.) in biology from Trent University in 1976 and Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand in 1981. Since joining DFO in 1984 his primary interests have been stock assessment and research in support of fisheries for herring and other pelagic species. Recent research has focused on improving fisheries management – including integration of biological, social and economic considerations in management.