| Abstract: | Fishing vessels, harvesting geographically dispersed and heterogeneous multispecies aggregates, are presumed to target on the most profitable pools. But, this behavior may lead to depletion of biologically valuable species, and consequent early closure by the management agency of the entire fishery. In this article, a simple model is analyzed in order to understand the dynamics of such targeting behavior. Further analysis explores the theoretical extent to which targeting might be altered through economic rationalization measures, landings taxes or quota markets, to achieve a more nearly optimal pattern of exploitation. |
