Comparing Management Strategies for Shifting Fish Stocks in the Western North Atlantic
Presentation
Overview
Overview
Description
Fishery management regimes that rely on spatial boundaries can be poorly adapted to climate-induced shifts in species distributions. Transitioning to dynamic allocation rules in spatial fisheries management is an alternative solution for mismatches between species distributions and spatial management boundaries. Palacios-Abrantes et al. (2023) examined the distributions of three fish stocks over time in the western North Atlantic and found that the distributions changed relative to the years used to determine the current state-level fishing quota allocations. A comparison of two alternative approaches to designing the spatial regulatory boundaries used to allocate a fish stock to individual states found that the choice of regulatory boundary design approach was more important than seasonality in determining allocations, especially at latitudinal extremes. We extend the analysis by adding models of fishing behavior at the vessel level and economic impacts at the state level to the models of shifting fish stocks and regulatory unit definition. We compare a range of static and dynamic fish stock allocation rules in simulations using the historical stock shifts. Our results inform the development of efficient and equitable stock allocation policies in a world of shifting fish stocks.
Reference: Palacios-Abrantes J, Crosson S, Dumas C, Fujita R, Levine A, Longo C, et al. (2023) Quantifying fish range shifts across poorly defined management boundaries. PLoS ONE 18(1): e0279025. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279025
