overfishing has ended according to "Top" scientist

[Chesapeake Bill]

Sandman,

The concept of Maximum sustainable yield is that it is supposed to be a very conservative approach. Ideally it is the max yield that can be taken without damage. Becuase the data is so bad (or at least so incomplete) it is almost vital to take a conservative approach leaving a large amount of wiggle room. However, sometimes they find that they missed the mark (thus overfishing) and sometimes they find they under-guessed (like monkfish). We can only hope they add enough of a conservative edge...

I personally don't like the term either becasue it is so often misunderstood....by everyone. Remeber, the NMFS charter is to support sustainable commercial interests...recreational is part because we impact the commercial part not because they want us.