Sustainable exploitation of temperate fish stocks
The theory of maximum sustainable yield (MSY) underpins many fishery management regimes and is applied principally as a single species concept. Using a simple dynamic biomass production model we show that MSY can be identified from a long time series of multi-stock data at a regional scale in the pr...
| Published in: | Biology Letters |
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| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
The Royal Society
2009
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2009.0516 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsbl.2009.0516 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsbl.2009.0516 |
| Summary: | The theory of maximum sustainable yield (MSY) underpins many fishery management regimes and is applied principally as a single species concept. Using a simple dynamic biomass production model we show that MSY can be identified from a long time series of multi-stock data at a regional scale in the presence of species interactions and environmental change. It suggests that MSY is robust and calculable in a multispecies environment, offering a realistic reference point for fishery management. Furthermore, the demonstration of the existence of MSY shows that it is more than a purely theoretical concept. There has been an improvement in the status of stocks in the Northeast Atlantic, but our analysis suggests further reductions in fishing effort would improve long-term yields. |
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