Term
Sustainability
Acronym
Also called
See also
Definition
The ability of a fish stock to persist in the long-term. Because fish populations exhibit natural variability, it is not possible to keep all stock and fishery attributes at a constant level simultaneously, thus sustainable fishing does not imply that the fishery and stock will persist in a constant equilibrium state. Because of natural variability, even if FMSY could be achieved exactly each year, catches and stock biomass will oscillate around their average MSY and BMSY levels, respectively. In a more general sense, sustainability refers to providing for the needs of the present generation while not compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. In the Fisheries Act 1996, section 8 outlines the purpose of the Act, to “provide for the utilisation of fisheries resources while ensuring sustainability.” The Fisheries Act defines ensuring sustainability as “(a) Maintaining the potential of fisheries resources to meet the reasonably foreseeable needs of future generations; and (b) Avoiding, remedying, or mitigating any adverse effects of fishing on the aquatic environment.”
