The concept of maximum sustainable yield (MSY) has been used in fisheries science and fisheries management for more than a century. Originally developed and popularized by Fedor Baranov early in the 19th century as the "theory of fishing," it is often credited with laying the foundation for the modern understanding of the population dynamics of fisheries. Tsikliras and Rainer Froese define MSY as "the highest average catch that can be continuously taken from an exploited population (=stock) under average environmental conditions.  Early calculations of MSY were developed under the assumption of logistic population growth. Assuming the logistic model, the MSY will be exactly at half the carrying capacity of a species, as this is the stage at when population growth is highest. In practice, the maximum sustainable yield is usually higher than the optimum sustainable yield. In most fisheries, the  population has been decreased so significantly from their native populations, that the only way to increase  production is to decrease production , and wait for populations to recover. Establishing  limits is a perennial difficulty .
The concept of maximum sustainable yield (MSY) has been used in fisheries science and fisheries management for more than a century. Originally developed and popularized by Fedor Baranov early in the 19th century as the "theory of fishing," it is often credited with laying the foundation for the modern understanding of the population dynamics of fisheries. Tsikliras and Rainer Froese define MSY as "the highest average catch that can be continuously taken from an exploited population (=stock) under average environmental conditions. " Early calculations of MSY were developed under the assumption of logistic population growth. Assuming the logistic model, the MSY will be exactly at half the carrying capacity of a species, as this is the stage at when population growth is highest. In practice, the maximum sustainable yield is usually higher than the optimum sustainable yield. In most fisheries, the target population has been decreased so significantly from its pre-fishing level that the only way to increase long-term production is to decrease short-term harvest , and wait for populations to recover. Establishing appropriate harvest limits is a perennially difficult scientifically, as is the actual implementation politically contentious .
A
"
A
target
R
their native populations,
its pre-fishing level
A
long-term
R
production
short-term harvest
A
appropriate harvest
R
perennial difficulty
perennially difficult scientifically, as is the actual implementation politically contentious