While considerable scientific uncertainties persist for mesopelagic ecosystems, the fishing industry has developed a great interest in commercial exploitation with improved technologies as part of their search for new sources of feed for fishmeal and fish oil for aquaculture, which will intensify with the planet's growing population. The multiple uncertainties surrounding the ecosystem structure and particularly the size of biomass, hinder a good understanding of the risks associated with large-scale exploitation, which is needed for a management framework for sustainable ocean uses. Despite concerns regarding irreversible losses triggered by commercial fishing, work exploring the vulnerability of mesopelagic fish to harvesting is largely missing. This study investigates the economic feasibility of mesopelagic fishing which is the primary driver for any possible future expansion. Using very limited information currently available, we conduct a high-level assessment focusing on key ecological and economic interactions and develop an initial understanding of the economic feasibility of commercial harvesting for mesopelagic fish in the coming years. We conduct simulations using a classical bioeconomic model that captures two species groups, mesopelagic and epipelagic fish, using a wide range of price and cost parameters. We analyze different scenarios for the economic profitability of the fishery in a regional fishery management context. The results of our study highlight the importance of better understanding key biological and ecological mechanisms and parameters which can in turn help inform policies aimed at protecting the mesopelagic.

中文翻译：

---

中层-上层鱼类关系在商业规模中层渔业的可行性和可行性中

虽然中层海洋生态系统仍然存在相当大的科学不确定性，但渔业已经对商业开发产生了极大的兴趣，利用改进的技术作为寻找鱼粉和水产养殖鱼油新饲料来源的一部分，这将随着地球人口的增长而加剧。围绕生态系统结构的多重不确定性，特别是生物量的大小，阻碍了对与大规模开发相关的风险的深入了解，而这对于可持续海洋利用的管理框架是必需的。尽管担心商业捕鱼会引发不可逆转的损失，但探索中层鱼类对捕捞的脆弱性的工作在很大程度上缺失。这项研究调查了中层渔业的经济可行性，这是未来任何可能扩张的主要驱动力。利用目前可用的非常有限的信息，我们进行了重点评估关键生态和经济相互作用的高级别评估，并对未来几年中层鱼类商业捕捞的经济可行性有了初步了解。我们使用经典的生物经济模型进行模拟，该模型使用广泛的价格和成本参数捕获两个物种群，中层和上层鱼类。我们分析了区域渔业管理背景下渔业经济盈利能力的不同情景。