A GIS-based maritime supply chain network design of distant-water fisheries

In the pursuit of efficient and cost-effective supply chain management within the marine capture fishery sector, this study introduces a novel approach that integrates the supply chain network for distant-water fisheries. This approach not only involves an integrated maritime location inventory routing problem (MLIRP) but also considers the identification of offshore fishing grounds based on geographic information system (GIS) techniques. The proposed model centers on critical decision variables, including selection of fishery production areas, strategic placement and sizing of perishable goods depots, and allocation of refrigerated vessels. Meanwhile, the model proposes two trade-off objective functions: one seeks to maximize the weighted coverage rate of fishery resource within selected production areas, while the other aims to minimize the total cost of the built network. To address the complex model, a method based on the k-means clustering and the multi-objective plant growth simulation algorithm (MO-PGSA) is adopted. Key elements, such as growth operators, dominant strength, crowding distance, and partially ordered sets, are involved to enhance algorithm performance. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed model and method are discussed through numerical experiments based on the real-life case in the Spratly Islands.