Optimal F0.1 Criteria and Their Relationship to Maximum Sustainable Yield

Abstract

There is a unique size of entry into the fishable population that maximizes yield per recruit when an F0.1 fishing criterion is applied to the simple theory of fishing developed by Beverton and Holt in 1957. I define such a pair of parameters (size of entry, F0.1 value) to be the optimal F0.1 criteria and show that they are characterized by the single quantity M/K. A quantitative relationship is established between maximum sustainable yield and the optimal F0.1 criteria for a model population where recruitment is governed by a Ricker stock–recruitment function. This new theory is applied to three fish stocks: Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis), western Lake Erie walleye (Stizostedion vitreum vitreum), and Bering Sea Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus).