Maximum sustainable yield
Term
Maximum sustainable yield
Acronym
MSY
Also called
See also
Definition
For the purposes of the Harvest Strategy Standard, maximum sustainable yield is the largest long-term average catch or yield that can be taken from a stock under prevailing ecological and environmental conditions. It is the maximum use that a renewable resource can sustain without impairing its renewability through natural growth and reproduction. For most quota management stocks, the total allowable catch is set at a level that either moves the stock towards, or maintains the stock at or above a biomass level that can support the maximum sustainable yield (section 13 of the Fisheries Act 1996). This term is defined in the Fisheries Act 1996.
