Linkage between fishers' foraging, market and fish stocks density: Examples from some North Sea fisheries

Type Article
Date 2007
Language English
Author(s) Marchal PaulORCID1, Poos Jan-Jaap2, Quirijns Floor2
Affiliation(s) 1 : IFREMER, Channel & N Sea Fisheries Dept, F-62321 Boulogne, France.
2 : IMARES, NL-1970 AB Ijmuiden, Netherlands.
Source Fisheries Research (0165-7836) (Elsevier), 2007 , Vol. 83 , N. 1 , P. 33-43
DOI 10.1016/j.fishres.2006.08.025
WOS© Times Cited 29
Keyword(s) Haul by haul data, Foraging, Fishing effort, Levy flights, Fleet behavior
Abstract This study has investigated some properties of fishermen's foraging, using Levy flights theory. The case studies examined were a selection of North Sea Dutch and French vessels, for which catch and effort data were collected on a haul-by-haul basis. Foraging behavior could reasonably be represented by a Levy flight process, characterized by an exponentiation factor mu, for both fleets. The properties of fishers' foraging were further investigated for the Dutch fleet using time series analysis. Optimal foraging was found with mu = 1.5, suggesting a slow recovery dynamics of the stocks being harvested. Efficient foraging led to high value per unit effort, while the knowledge of fishing grounds with high stock density is shown to increase foraging efficiency in the short-term future. Only marginal correlations could be found between mu and the other explanatory variables considered (fish prices and fishing effort). (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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