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| ICES Approach to Fishing Opportunities |
ICES takes a precautionary approach to advising on fishing opportunities, with the goal of achieving maximum sustainable yield (MSY) unless otherwise requested. This means that ICES aims to inform policies that will lead to high, long-term yields while maintaining productive fish stocks in marine ecosystems that meet expected environmental standards.
Annex 2 of the UN Fish Stocks Agreement provides guidelines for applying a precautionary approach within an MSY framework. According to this approach, fish populations must be maintained within safe biological limits in order to achieve MSY. However, within safe biological limits, an MSY approach is necessary to maximise long-term yields. All ICES advice is consistent with the precautionary approach.
MSY is a broad concept that aims to achieve the highest possible yield over the long term. It is not specific about:
- The biological unit to which it is applied (e.g., a single fish stock, a group of related stocks, or an entire ecosystem)
- The models used to provide scientific advice
- The definition of yields
- The management methods used to achieve MSY
ICES defines MSY as maximising the average long-term yield from a given fish stock while maintaining the stock as productive. ICES considers the yield to be maximised as the part of the catch that is landed, measured in weight. This may be calculated relative to the landed catch above a prescribed minimum size, depending on regulations for the individual stock.
Many of the models used to estimate MSY assume that factors not explicitly included in the model will either remain constant or vary around a historical long-term mean. However, marine ecosystems are dynamic, and fish stocks will change not only in response to fishing but also to changes in their prey, predators, and climate. Therefore, ICES considers MSY reference points to be valid only in the short and medium term (generally up to 5-10 years). MSY reference points should be subject to regular reviews and modified according to new information or process understanding.
ICES provides advice on fishing opportunities and stock status for individual stocks to support the stock-by-stock management system. For some stocks, ICES is only requested to advise on status and not on fishing opportunities. In addition to single-stock advice, ICES also provides mixed-fisheries considerations, fisheries overviews, and ecosystem overviews. These encapsulate the technical and biological interactions between stocks at an ecoregion scale.