Quantifying the consequences of overlooking key economic dynamics and evaluating robust management procedures

Achieving bio–economic objectives is increasingly recognized as a central goal in modern fisheries management, yet practitioners often face challenges arising from the dynamic fluctuations and inherent uncertainty of economic conditions. As a result, management measures often simplify economic dynamics using static assumptions, or even bypass economic considerations entirely by relying solely on biological indicators or historical catches to set management rules. However, such approaches leave unclear whether, and to what extent, bio–economic objectives, particularly maximum economic yield (MEY), can be achieved. To advance management practices in fisheries facing this challenge, this study uses the whitespotted conger (Conger myriaster) fishery as a case study to assess the consequences of overlooking key economic dynamics and to evaluate the performance of several management procedures (MPs). Specifically, we quantify the biases introduced when three major dimensions of economic variation are not explicitly accounted for: cost dynamics (fuel price variability), market dynamics (price responsiveness to total yield), and quality–based pricing dynamics (size–dependent pricing). Building on this, we use a management strategy evaluation (MSE) framework to test whether a set of MPs, which require no economic data and rely only on biological or catch information, can serve as robust alternatives for achieving MEY objectives. Our results show that ignoring key economic dynamics, especially size–dependent pricing, substantially reduces economic benefits and increases biological risks. More importantly, when fully dynamic economic information cannot be incorporated into routine assessments, the vast majority of output–control MPs (e.g. catch–based or index–based rules) may lead to substantial economic losses, whereas size–based input–control MPs can serve as robust alternatives for approximating MEY targets. Overall, this study emphasizes that fisheries management must shift from a static or simplified economic perspective towards a more dynamic and resilient one, thereby providing actionable insights for designing effective management strategies in the face of global economic fluctuations and uncertainty.