A Profit Optimisation Decision Support Tool for the Offshore Aquaculture Industry

It has long been accepted that fish and seafood contribute positively to human health and consumer well-being. However, supply of seafood from wild catches steadily decreases and aquaculture gradually fills the gap of an ever increasing seafood market. In fact, aquaculture has been recognized as one of the fastest growing industries worldwide raising concern regarding fishmeal stock sustainability. This paper presents a profit optimization decision support tool for the Eastern Mediterranean offshore aquaculture industry, enabling just-in-time production of fish stock with minimum slack of mature fish stock in breeding cages. In detail, (a) a simulation model of involved cost elements is introduced, enabling (b) model development. Finally, a case study application of the model is presented.