NIMBioS Tuesday Seminar Series

In conjunction with the interdisciplinary activities of the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS), a seminar series will be hosted at NIMBioS every other Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. in the NIMBioS Lecture Hall on the 4th floor of 1534 White Ave., Suite 400 Seminar speakers will focus on their research initiatives at the interface of mathematics and many areas of the life sciences. Light refreshments will be served starting at 3 p.m.

 
Time/Date/Location: 3:30 p.m., Oct. 6, NIMBioS Lecture Hall, 1534 White Ave., Suite 400
Speaker: Dr. Paul Armsworth, UT Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Topic:Optimal Spatial Management of Marine Fisheries - A Case Study Example

Abstract: Technological advances and improvements in our understanding of the life history of marine species make increasingly precise spatial management possible in many fisheries. Spatial management strategies are often recommended as ways to manage bycatch in fisheries and fisheries that threaten particularly sensitive life history stages, like spawning. We examine a case study that illustrates when such management measures can be justified on ecological and economic grounds. Specifically, we examine whether these measures present an economically efficient means to protect Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) on their western Atlantic spawning ground. Longline fishermen targeting yellowfin tuna (T. albacares) catch spawning bluefin as bycatch in the Gulf of Mexico, an area where bluefin are supposed to be protected. We combine a behavioral model of bluefin migration with population dynamic models for the two species and an economic representation of relevant fisheries. Time-area closures are predicted to be economically costly if there is little scope for recovery of the bluefin stock. However, such closures can be economically efficient if integrated into long-term management plans to rebuild the bluefin population. This difference reflects changes to the relative profitability of the fisheries involved. Whether a closure is optimal depends on the productivity of a rebuilt bluefin population, the discount rate, and the costs of forgone fishing opportunities.

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From 2008 until early 2021, NIMBioS was supported by the National Science Foundation through NSF Award #DBI-1300426, with additional support from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.