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Fishbank Simulation
Fishbank Simulation
Fishbank Simulation
COURSE- PGDM
BATCH- 2021-23
SUBJECT- SIMULATION
FISHBANK SIMULATION
Introduction
Fish Banks is a business simulation based on system dynamics, a pattern analysis approach
for complex and rapidly changing systems. Participants will pretend to be employees of a
fishing firm and work together to optimize the company's assets as part of the simulation.
The game will teach you important lessons about the management of renewable resources.
The learning points from the simulations may be used to a range of situations, including
Decisions taken
Although the intended goal of the game was to maximize profits and have the highest amount
of assets at the end of the 31 years, I used a focussed strategy in which I did not increase the
fleet size of my ship more than 14 for the simulation period. I decided this as a caution
towards sustainability and resource management. A large fleet size in the long run would lead
to a decrease in the market value of each ship as expected profit from each ship would
the expected catch increased, I moved more ships to the deep sea and vice versa. In the
starting years, I kept allocated more ships in the deep as the expected catch was high.
Year 18 onwards, expected catch started falling from 28 to 22 and 21 later, so I decreased the
ships in the sea from 9 to 5 and 4 later. The decision helped the fishes to increase and make
the allocation of boats in the deep sea profitable. The ships were again moved to the deep to
maximise profits.
In the year 26, when expected catch hit the rock bottom at 12 and 20 in the coast and deep
respectively, I was forced to move 6 of my ships to the harbour as the cost of operating ship
in the deep was rising steeply and the revenue generated did not cover the costs.
At the end of 30 years, the fish population returned to normal however, I still kept my 2 boats
During the first 9 years, I purchased ships as more ships will increase harvest revenue if I
assign them to the deep/coast with the biggest catch per ship, and that the worth of the ship
I also auctioned my ship in year 2 at a price of $ 350 which was well above the market price
of $ 319. However, no one raised a bid for my boat due to high price.
I made an average profit of $ 2660 in 30 years of Simulation and had a final bank balance of
$ 83227 at the end of 30 years. The profitability and asset value of my business is average. I
made a significant amount of profit and assets from the start, but because I had decide not to
keep my fleet size more than 14 the ship value was considerable good.
To conclude, my approach while playing the game was realistic. I considered the uncertainty
of weather while purchasing boats and hence, did not purchase a lot of boats. I decided the
allocation of boats depending upon the expected catch of the fish. I decided to keep the fleet
size small as large fleet size will result in less fishes per boat which in turn will lead to rising
Key Learning
The simulation provided me with useful insights on renewable resource management that
The fish bank simulation helps me to understand that resources are limited and over
exploitation of resources should not be done. The simulation also plays a key role in defining
the decision-making process for ship allocation. Each year the ships have to be strategically
ocean.
The simulation also helped me learn that over purchasing of assets in order to maximize
profits is not the correct strategy as the resources to be extracted are limited and there is
diminishing returns to a factor after a certain point. Simulation taught me how to mobilize
people to create a sustainable future as the next generation of business leaders. I learned how
important collaborative strategies and information sharing are for the growth of any
organization.
There was a substantial amount of profit despite the decline in the expected catch of the
fishes. The profit fluctuated several times during the life of the simulation but there were no
losses and hence, I feel the business strategy adopted to be feasible and practical for a decent
amount of profit.
The market value of assets also increased every year as the return on investment was good
and also, I earned an interest income from the bank. At the end of the simulation, I had an
overall asset of $ 83227 which is a good amount for the simulation activity.
I think I should have purchased more ships and increased my fleet size. My profit was
nominal and could have been maximized if I had more ships. However, the maximum fleet
size should have been around 20-25 in order to ensure that the fishes do not complete deplete
from the sea. The increased fleet size would help me in proper utilization of resources and
Conclusion
The Fish bank simulation helped me learn a lot about the optimum utilization of resources,
decision making, sustainable management and teamwork. The simulation helped me gain the
practical knowledge of the working of a business. The simulation activity is crucial for
understanding the grassroots of any business and not just fishery business.