Managing tuna fisheries: a new strategy for the Western and Central Pacific Ocean

The paper describes a bioeconomic model of the western and central Pacific tuna fisheries in which three main gear types exploit four main tuna specie s following migratory paths through the Exclusive Economic Zones of 12 Paci fic Island nations. The results of the model suggest that the net value of the fisheries can be increased substantially by reducing the overall amount of fishing effort and altering the balance of effort towards gear types wh ich exploit older age classes of fish. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All r ights reserved.