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

P. Marchal, J.J. Poos, F.J. Quirijns

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

35 Citations (Scopus)

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 ¿, for both fleets. The properties of fishers' foraging were further investigated for the Dutch fleet using time series analysis. Optimal foraging was found with = 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 ¿ and the other explanatory variables considered (fish prices and fishing effort).
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)33-43
JournalFisheries Research
Volume83
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2007

Keywords

  • ideal free distribution
  • spatial-distribution
  • competitive interactions
  • movement patterns
  • random searches
  • fleet dynamics
  • beam trawlers
  • georges bank
  • scale
  • vessels

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Linkage between fishes'foraging, market and fish stocks density: Examples from some North Sea fisheries'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this