Hartmann, Klaas, Bode, Lance, and Armsworth, Paul (2006) The economic optimality of learning from marine protected areas. ANZIAM Journal, 48. C307-C329.

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Abstract

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are an emerging tool for managing marine resources. Many of the benefits associated with MPAs have been widely investigated and the field is an active area of research in theoretical ecology. One benefit of MPAs that has remained largely overlooked is their value as a tool for learning about the population dynamics of a fishery. We investigate the economic optimality of implementing an MPA, purely for the purpose of obtaining more informative data about a fish population, thereby allowing a better management strategy. A stochastic dynamic programming framework for finding optimal management strategies in this scenario is developed. A simple example is investigated using this framework, with the results illustrating that in some situations the knowledge gained from MPAs can be sufficient to make their creation economically optimal. This establishes an additional benefit of MPAs that should be considered further by fishery managers.

Item ID:	19327
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	1446-8735
Date Deposited:	09 Dec 2011 02:18
FoR Codes:	01 MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES > 0102 Applied Mathematics > 010202 Biological Mathematics @ 50% 06 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 0602 Ecology > 060207 Population Ecology @ 50%
SEO Codes:	97 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 970106 Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences @ 80% 97 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 970101 Expanding Knowledge in the Mathematical Sciences @ 20%
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