Kuykendall et al.: A management strategy evaluation for Spisula solidissima 
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Management < reference points 
behavior 
Figure 2 
Diagram of the structure of the spatially explicit fishery economics simulator model, including all 
functions used in the simulations for this study of management strategy evaluation for Atlantic 
surfclam ( Spisula solidissima ) in the Mid-Atlantic Bight. Powell et al. (2015) provides a complete 
description of the capabilities of this model. 
MA) and analyzed with SAS statistical software, vers. 
9 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC). Models that track fish- 
ing fleets spatially or seasonally are becoming increas- 
ingly important (Holland and Sutinen, 2000; Hutton 
et ah, 2004; Mahevas and Pelletier, 2004; Monroy et 
al., 2010; van Putten et al., 2012). The SEFES model 
permits simulation of the entire fishing fleet and each 
vessel operating independently according to specified 
criteria. Powell et al. (2015) provide a detailed model 
description. Pertinent details for this study are sum- 
marized here. 
The spatial domain of the model consists of a rect- 
angular grid of cells with areas of 10' of latitude by 
10' of longitude. The lO'-square resolution of these 
cells corresponds with the resolution of data reported 
in logbooks (NEFSC 2 ). The grid, which is specified for 
the MAB, consists of 17 cells in the east-west dimen- 
sion and 26 cells in the north-south dimension. Each 
cell, or 10' square, is classified as land, fishable area, 
or unfishable area by a spatial mask. Three land cells 
specify the location of home ports located from north to 
south at 1) Oceanside, New York, 2) Atlantic City, New 
Jersey, and 3) Point Pleasant, New Jersey. Of the 400 
ocean cells, 52 are fishable areas and the remaining 
cells are areas presently poorly inhabited or uninhab- 
ited by Atlantic surfclam (Fig. 3). 
Active agents of the model are the 19 commercial 
vessels that harvest Atlantic surfclam under imposed 
operational constraints and decisions from the ves- 
sel captain. Operational constraints, which can vary 
among vessels, include vessel speed, maximum al- 
lowed time at sea, harvest capacities, and imposed 
harvest quotas. Each active vessel in the fleet is speci- 
fied uniquely in the model and is committed to 1 of 
3 home ports on the basis of location where that ves- 
sel usually offloads its catch. The commercial vessels 
travel within the spatial domain and harvests Atlantic 
surfclam based on decisions by the captains of where 
trip quotas can be met most efficiently (i.e., short- 
est time to fill the vessel with the lowest operational 
costs). The captains’ decisions are based on “memo- 
ries” that are built from information regarding LPUEs 
