Maximum sustainable yield from interacting fish stocks in an uncertain world: two policy choices and underlying trade-offs

The case of fisheries management illustrates how the inherent structural instability of ecosystems can have deep-running policy implications. We contrast ten types of management plans to achieve maximum sustainable yields (MSY) from multiple stocks and compare their effectiveness based on a management strategy evaluation (MSE) that uses complex food webs in its operating model. Plans that primarily target specific stock sizes (BMSY) consistently led to higher yields than plans targeting specific fishing pressures (FMSY). A new type of self-optimising control rule, introduced here for its robustness to structural instability, led to intermediate yields. Most plans outperformed single-species management plans that set pressure targets without explicitly considering multispecies interactions. However, more refined plans to “maximise the yield from each stock separately”, in the sense of a Nash equilibrium, produced total yields comparable to plans aiming to maximise total harvested biomass and were more robust to structural instability. Our analyses highlight trade-offs between yields, amenability to negotiations, pressures on biodiversity, and continuity with current approaches in the European context. Based on these results, we recommend directions for future developments of EU fisheries policy.