State of the fisheries.

Abstract

This chapter discusses the overview of fisheries reference points, particularly maximum sustainable yield (MSY) and related concepts. The chapter also includes the terminology associated with overfishing and demonstrates that since the adoption of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC) in 1982, the avoidance and reduction of overfishing and the obligation to maintain or restore populations of harvested species at levels that can produce MSY have become interrelated and fundamental objectives of the regime governing fisheries management. The evolution of the concept of MSY, its short-comings, and its formulation under UN Fish Stocks Agreement (UNFSA), and the concept of maximum economic yield and the associated issues of overcapacity and subsidization are highlighted. Lastly, the chapter also presents the status of key commercial straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks regulated by regional fisheries management organization (RFMOs).