Striving for Balance 141 Striving for Balance: Wh y Reintroducing More Species to Fish Farm Ecosystem Yields Bigger Profits Sean clement Timothy Newlin Joseph Lucas Dept of Mathematical Sciences U.S. Military Academy West Point ny Advisor: Kristin Aney S1 ruinary Demand for animal protein is the root problem that the people of Boli nao, Philippines have experienced over the last 15 years. Past solutions focused on harvesting large quantities of one type of fish using large cages nfortunately this approach failed to meet the demand for protein, ruined local water quality, and destroyed the coral reef Future technological innovations such as self-powered fish cages, alg based biodiesel fuel, and radio-frequency identification tracking offer great potential for waste reduction and improved open-water fish harvesting However, the people of Bolinao cannot wait; change must begin now. We must assist the transition, butultimately the people of Bolinao are the great est stakeholders in the future quality of life there Mathematics-based models show the various stages of this deterioration by demonstrating how the ecosystem in Bolinao once functioned before demand for fish grew dramatically in the early 1990s. We demonstrate the dangers to water quality of the current practice of farming only milkfish Finally, we show how introducing other species into commercial fish pens will allow equilibrium to recur, reducing levels of waste in the water and allowing the coral reef (a catalyst for growth) to return. The UMAP Journal30(2)(2009)141-157. @ Copyright 2009 by COMAP, Inc. Allrights reserved Permission to make digi ies of part or all of this work for personal or classroom use anted without fee e not made or distributed for profit or commercial notice. Abstracting with credit is permitted, but copyright for components of this work owned by others than COMAP must be honored. To copy otherwise, to republish, to post on servers, or to redistribute to lists requires prior permission from COMAP.Striving for Balance 141 Striving for Balance: Why Reintroducing More Species to Fish Farm Ecosystem Yields Bigger Profits Sean Clement Timothy Newlin Joseph Lucas Dept. of Mathematical Sciences U.S. Military Academy West Point, NY Advisor: Kristin Amey Summary Demand for animal protein is the root problem that the people of Boll￾nao, Philippines have experienced over the last 15 years. Past solutions focused on harvesting large quantities of one type of fish using large cages. Unfortunately this approach failed to meet the demand for protein, ruined local water quality, and destroyed the coral reef. Future technological innovations such as self-powered fish cages, algae￾based biodiesel fuel, and radio-frequency identification tracking offer great potential for waste reduction and improved open-water fish harvesting. However, the people of Bolinao cannot wait; change must begin now. We must assist the transition, but ultimately the people of Bolinao are the great￾est stakeholders in the future quality of life there. Mathematics-based models show the various stages of this deterioration by demonstrating how the ecosystem in Bolinao once functioned before demand for fish grew dramatically in the early 1990s. We demonstrate the dangers to water quality of the current practice of farming only milkfish. Finally, we show how introducing other species into commercial fish pens will allow equilibrium to recur, reducing levels of waste in the water and allowing the coral reef (a catalyst for growth) to return. The UMAP Journal 30(2) (2009)141-157. @Copyright2009by COMAP Inc. All rights reserved. Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice. Abstracting with credit is permitted, but copyrights for components of this work owned by others than COMAP must be honored. To copy otherwise, to republish, to post on servers, or to redistribute to lists requires prior permission from COMAR