Implications of a nested stochastic/deterministic bio-economic model for a pelagic fishery

Use is made of an economically optimal feedback rule to determine optimal levels of exploitation of a pelagic fish species. Data from the southern bluefin tuna fishery for the years 1960–1996 are utilised to apply this rule to aggregated deterministic and stochastic models of population dynamics. Comparison of the rule-based results with historical records indicates that over much of the period the fishery was economically overexploited and a harvesting moratorium could have been imposed to improve economic returns from the fishery and to allow stock recovery.