Since the end of the 20th century, the Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) has been at the core of debates in the fisheries sector from a biological, economical and geopolitical perspective. In theory, MSY aims to maximise fishery yields while preventing harmful declines in stock biomasses. However, MSY is primarily derived from single stock (i.e. monospecific) population dynamics and does not necessarily achieve a suitable balance between exploitation, socio-economic objectives and food web and ecosystem functioning. Since the last reform of the European Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) in 2013, FMSY has been the management target for European fisheries. Given the high prevalence of overexploited stocks at the time, fisheries theory suggests that for those stocks a reduction in fishing mortality should lead to an increase in biomass, which in turn should possibly result in an increase in fishing opportunities. While some of the indicators calculated to monitor the effectiveness of the CFP show rather encouraging signs regarding the state of stocks, the fishing industry, which in the meantime has also been affected by a series of crises (Brexit, diesel prices, climate change, zero-catch advice, etc.), does not seem to perceive the expected benefits. Using a meta-analysis of more than 100 stocks assessed by ICES in the North-East Atlantic, we looked at how scientists’ advice on fishing opportunities has evolved and whether or not it has responded to changes in F and SSB since the last CFP reform. While the analyses show that fishing opportunities have increased mainly in cases where F and SSB have changed the most, they appear to be evolving more slowly and the picture is rather mixed. This may also reflect the adverse signs of global change and the impact this may have on future fishing opportunities.
DROUINEAU Hilaire;
VERMARD Youen;
GRAS Michael;
2026-06-15
EDP SCIENCES S A
JRC142022
1765-2952 (online),
https://doi.org/10.1051/alr/2026010,
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC142022,
10.1051/alr/2026010 (online),
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