Bioeconomic Modelling and Valuation of Exploited Marine Ecosystems

This book offers an environmental-economic analysis of exploited ecosystems with a clear policy orientation. The study tries to move beyond traditional economic fishery analysis in two respects. First, several theoretical and numerical models are offered that combine economic and ecological descriptions of fisheries. These models give special attention to spatial processes as well as to combining exploitation and conservation objectives. Second, valuation and stakeholder concerns are addressed in empirical analyses employing both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The latter is done by using advanced methods of monetary valuation. In addition, the first part of the book presents short, introductory overviews of integrated assessment, economic modeling of fishery management, and incorporating uncertainty in fisheries analysis. These introductions will allow readers of a variety of disciplines to create a sufficient background so as to be able to read later parts of the book. This first part also includes a chapter in which traditional and recent ideas on fisheries policy are critically discussed and where possible synthesized. Many of the applied studies reported relate to a multifunctional marine ecosystem area in the Netherlands, known as the Wadden Sea ("Waddenzee"), which extends to Germany and Denmark. The resulting approaches, models and policy insights are nevertheless sufficiently general and innovative to be of interest to a broad audience.