In the methodology section, the authors discuss decision rules. It is important to understand that decision rules are observations that are assigned an appropriate action and are used in economics to help determine management strategies. For the example of fisheries, Kronbak and Vestergaard state that decision rule 1 depends on whether "effects are to be maximized given a fixed budget within which most effects are to be achieved" and decision rule 2 depends on whether "there is a maximum price per unit of effect achieved" (p. 273). The fisheries manager does not have a physically fixed budget to pay for the selective gear; instead, the authors use what criteria to make decisions to justify the cost of the technologies to reduce impact on the ecosystem?

Answer Options:

a. A measure of maximum acceptable loss = present value of net benefits known as "budget limitation"

b. The cost-effectiveness ratio, or the C/E ratio, which is a calculation of a savings per unit effect

c. A measure of maximum acceptable gains = present value of net benefits known as "budget limitation"

d. The cost-effectiveness ratio, or the C/E ratio, which is a calculation of a costs per unit effect