Ocean · food
Fisheries management
Definition
Fisheries management is the integrated process of information gathering, analysis, planning, decision-making, allocation and enforcement by which authorities regulate fishing to sustain stocks and the benefits they provide. Its classical reference point is maximum sustainable yield (MSY) — the largest catch that can be taken from a stock over an indefinite period without impairing renewal, derived from surplus-production theory — with later variants such as maximum economic yield (MEY) and optimum sustainable yield (OSY) adding economic and social objectives. Instruments include total allowable catches and quotas, effort limits, seasons and area closures, gear rules and rights-based management.
References
MSY definition (maximum catch over an indefinite period), surplus-production basis, MEY/OSY variants, criticisms, FAO Cochrane guidebook reference
Overview
What it means
Modern fisheries management is adaptive and ecosystem-based: MSY is now treated as a limit to stay below rather than a target to hit, and management plans increasingly account for food-web effects, bycatch, habitat and climate-driven shifts in stock distribution.
How it is used
Applied through national fisheries administrations, regional fisheries management organisations, the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and certification schemes such as the MSC.
Why it matters
A large share of assessed stocks is fished at or beyond sustainable limits; effective management is the difference between a renewable food system and sequential depletion.