An Individual-based Fishery Model and Assessing Fishery Stability

The stability of a fishery system was investigated using two forms of a stochastic computer simulation model that was individually based in terms of the fishing boats. Fish catch was partitioned among boats according to two catch processes: an unranked process in which all boats had equal ability to catch fish and a ranked catch model in which a boat’s ability to catch fish depended on its wealth. Stock size, total catch, fleet size and individual boat wealth were modeled over a series of years. In the unranked catch model the fish stock size and fleet size were significantly more variable than in the ranked catch model.