Interannual variability of fisheries economic returns and energy ratios is mostly explained by gear type.

ABSTRACT: According to portfolio theory applied to fisheries management, economic returns are stabilised by harvesting in a portfolio stocks of species whose returns are negatively correlated and for which the portfolio economic return variance is smaller than the sum of stock specific return variances. Also, variability is expected to decrease with portfolio width. Using a range of indicators, these predictions were tested for the French fishing fleets in the Bay of Biscay (Northeast Atlantic) during the period 2001-2009. For this, vessels were grouped into eight fishing fleets based on the gears used and exploited species were grouped into five functional groups. The portfolio width of fleets ranged from 1-3 functional groups, or 4-19 species. Economic fleet returns (sale revenues minus fishing co

SUBMITTER: Trenkel VM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3726391 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature