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Abstract
Protected areas in fishery management have been suggested to hedge management
failures and variation in harvests. In this paper, a stochastic bioeconomic model of a
two-species fishery in the Manning Bioregion is used to test the performance of protected
areas as a management tool in a fishery. The establishment of a protected area
is analysed under the assumption of heterogenous environments that are linked via
density-dependent or sink-source stock dispersal relationships. The sensitivity of the
results to different degrees of management is also explored. The model is applied to
the Ocean Prawn Trawl, and Ocean Trap and Line fisheries within Manning Bioregion
in New South Wales, Australia. The focus of the study is placed on the biological and
institutional characteristics that yield benefits to the fishery. It was found that protected
area use in the Manning Bioregion is likely to have differing effects on the two
fisheries examined, benefiting Ocean Trap and Line fishers but adversely affecting
Ocean Prawn Trawl fishers. Overall, it is unlikely that protected area use will lead to
an increase resource rent in the fishery.