Sandy,
With all due respect you have no idea what you are talking about. First lets get through the semantics; Maximum
Sustainable Yeild is the target. Today there are very species (haddock is one that comes to mind) that are actually being managed at MSY, almost all other in our neck of the woods are "rebuilding." Rebuilding means that the population is not at a level that would support MSY and the species is bind managed to increase populations to the level required for MSY.
Secondly, the estimates are weighted with a huge "precautionary factor." I like to say that as recreations we are being precautioned to death.
First the population estimates are reduced as a "precaution" sometimes by as much as 40%. Then the ABC (acceptable biological catch) is reduced for a precautionary factor, again by sometimes as much as 40%, That's the reason why, since the MSA was reauthorized and the SSCs given control of the Stock Status and setting the ABC There has never been a stock status that was reviewed and found to overestimate the stock, but there have been plenty where the review found that the stock had been wildly underestimated. (Pollack, Monkfish, Scallops)
In fact the SSCs have been ultra conservative in setting ABCs and Stock estimates. In fact if they had been any more conservative no one would be fishing for anything but Haddock.