Optimal harvesting in a periodic food chain model with size structures in predators (Q2400492)

The authors present a prey predator model with two size structured predators and one non structured prey. Thus the model consists of two first order partial differential equations and an ordinary differential equation and is endowed with three control actions representing harvesting strategies. Using the Banach fixed point theorem the authors demonstrate the well-posedness of the model assuming periodicity of an environment. Moreover the solutions are continuously dependent on the control variables. Then an optimal control problem is formulated and discussed. The authors present optimality conditions in terms of adjoint variables and demonstrate existence of unique optimal strategies using the Ekeland variational principle. The control objective is to maximize a functional which represents an economic benefit of harvesting. The paper is difficult for reading and there are no examples illustrating the presented results.