Bioeconomic modelling in aquaculture: an overview of the literature

Bioeconomic models consist of the use of mathematics to model the behaviour of biological systems conditioned by biological, environmental, economic and technical factors. At present, market competitiveness in aquaculture is growing steadily and the amount of data that producers have to manage is increasing. In this context, bioeconomic models are a crucial tool for improving the efficiency of decision-making processes. This paper reviews the literature on bioeconomic modelling in aquaculture from 2004 to 2015. In order to find the papers reviewed in the present study, an exhaustive online search was conducted in various databases that contain papers published in the most relevant journals in this area of research. After identifying the application of these models to aquaculture throughout the last decade, an analysis was developed for the papers published in the three main research areas: aquaculture management, economic viability and risk management. The last section presents a discussion about the types of relationships modelled, the data used, the estimation techniques, and the limitations and challenges within this discipline that would improve knowledge about aquaculture management.