When one considers all the extra value generated in a fishery such as processing, distribution and marketing of fish products, higher fisheries quotas make more sense, according to a new paper titled MEY=MSY by Villy Christensen published in Fish and Fisheries. For more than 50 years, it has been generally accepted that the fishing sector stood to gain from managing fisheries at the effort level producing maximum economic yield (MEY) rather than maximum sustainable yield (MSY), which occurs at a higher effort level. “If operating at the lower MEY level would result in so much higher profit to the individual boats and to the fishing sector while maintaining catches nearly at MSY why don’t they?” asks Christensen in the paper. He explains that MEY was built on the assumption that only the revenue and cost structure for the fishing fleet were considered. Christensen points out that when processing, distribution and marketing of fish products are taken into account, there are more profits to be gained, which in turn makes MSY — and a higher fishing effort — the more appropriate target for fisheries.
