A state space bioeconomic model of pacific halibut

Abstract

Evaluation of potential economic consequences of alternative management actions requires an understanding of how the biological stock will be affected by the management action and an understanding of the response of economic systems to changes in the timing, magnitude, and size distribution of harvests and changes in the location and catchability of the biological stock. We use a hybrid structural time series model to represent Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) stock and recruitment dynamics and a system of structural equations to represent supply and demand relationships for Pacific halibut from Alaska and British Columbia. Model simulations explore the economic effects of changes in recruitment success, growth rate, and carrying capacity, and changes in international supplies of halibut. © 2008 Blackwell Publishing, Inc.