An Exploration of Competition and Cooperation through a Multi-Agent Dynamic-Game Model of Fishery Management

摘要

The interaction between economic and ecological dynamic systems is analyzed with a multi-agent dynamic game model of fishery management. Multiple actors (fishermen) harvest multiple fish types and adapt the amount and allocation of their investments to their value functions, which are given as net profits of the fish harvest sold for a market price. We introduce and compare two different decision rules in the competition of fishermen, leading to a decline both of fish stocks and profits for most fishermen. As an alternative, we introduce a cooperative approach to jointly set sustainable limits for total harvest and investment that are then distributed to the fishermen according to distribution rules. As the simulation shows, fish stocks and profits stabilize at significantly higher levels in the cooperative case, leading to a continuous accumulation of capital.