Scandinavian Working Papers in Economics

Discussion Papers,
Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Business and Management Science

No 2012/5: The Ensemble Kalman Filter in Bioeconomics

Sturla F. Kvamsdal () and Leif K. Sandal ()
Additional contact information
Sturla F. Kvamsdal: Dept. of Finance and Management Science, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration, Postal: NHH , Department of Finance and Management Science, Helleveien 30, N-5045 Bergen, Norway
Leif K. Sandal: Dept. of Finance and Management Science, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration, Postal: NHH , Department of Finance and Management Science, Helleveien 30, N-5045 Bergen, Norway

Abstract: We demonstrate the power of the Ensemble Kalman Filter in specifying ecosystem models ideal for bioeconomic analysis. Bioeconomic analysis requires models to be relatively simple, but models must still capture the nature and dynamics of the system. With the Ensemble Kalman Filter, we are able to capture complex dynamics in multispecies models with models simple enough to allow further bioeconomic analysis. While bioeconomic analysis has had limited influence on management decisions, the advent of new methods and the need for high dimensional ecosystem based management models may make bioeconomic research more relevant in the future. The filter is applied to a ecosystem model of the commercially most important species in the Barents Sea. The simpler, aggregated stochastic biomass models capture the complex dynamics of the pelagic stocks on the level needed for making decisions on for example allowable catches.

Keywords: Ensemble Kalman Filter; Ecosystem Management; Bioeconomics; Aggregated Biomass Models

JEL-codes: Q00; Q50; Q57

28 pages, May 14, 2012

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