Maximum economic yield and its importance in fisheries management

Fishery resources are renewable natural resource but are liable to become extinct (as witnessed in many cases across the globe) if continuous and indiscriminate harvest is adopted Here the size of the stock (population) depends on the biological, economic and social considerations. Since fisheries resources are mostly coming under common property resources, its management becomes a complex issue (due to which a comprehensive management measure could not be exercised) and we have to resort to various management intervention options to ensure sustainable harvest as well as to maintain inter and intra generational equity. The management issue gains more significance in India wherein species diversity is very high and so the diversity among the fishing communities involved in fishing operations. “In an open access regime like fishery, negative externalities are many, which implies that uncontrolled fishery will bound to end up in what is called tragedy of commons.’ (Grafton et.al, 2006)