Experts Evaluate the Potential Impact of MSY Fisheries Management The fourth Myfish General Assembly took place in Parc Bic, Palma de Mallorca, Spain from 24-26 March 2015. The meeting brought the Myfish consortium members together with external stakeholders to discuss the synthesis of the project’s results. Myfish is an EC FP7-funded project that aims to define an operational framework for the implementation of the Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) concept in European waters. The General Assembly was hosted by the Instituto Espanol de Oceanografia (IEO) and involved a combination of plenary lectures and group discussions focusing on the project’s results to date, leading to enthusiastic debate between all participants. Anna Rindorf, Myfish Project Coordinator, said: 'Over the past three years, significant advances have been made in relation to evaluating the trade-offs required and the preferences for different implementations of MSY management. Myfish has developed and adapted models to estimate the likely outcomes of aiming for the preferred MSY variants in terms of yield and sustainability. These models have been used to develop Decision Support Table (DSTs), which have been populated with management scenarios identified as relevant by stakeholders in five case study areas during the first phase of the project. In the second phase, Myfish evaluated the likely ecosystem and economic consequences of aiming for a specific version of MSY. With only one year remaining in the project, Myfish is now focusing on the evaluation of the likely economic and social impact of MSY management.' The meeting was initiated with discussions centred on the progress of, and conclusions from, the DSTs and the process to provide support for the development of multiannual plans. On the second day, the focus of the meeting shifted to finding the most economical pathway towards MSY. Participants also explored the likely response of fishers to long-term management plans. The impacts of variation and trends on MSY variants were discussed on the final day of the meeting, followed by an update on the plan of action for the final year of the project (2016). The general assembly ended with an invitation to the ICES-Myfish symposium on ‘Targets and limits for long term fisheries management’. This symposium will take place in Athens, Greece from 27-30 October 2015. Please visit http://www.myfishproject.eu/final-symposium-2/about-the-symposium for more information on this event. More information about the Myfish project can be found on its website: www.myfishproject.eu. For press queries please contact the Project Coordinator, Anna Rindorf (email: ar@aqua.dtu.dk). Notes for Editors DTU-Aqua is the coordinator of this project, with AquaTT as its dissemination partner. The Myfish project has received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement n° 289257. Myfish involves 31 project partners from 12 EU countries. DTU-Aqua, the Technical University of Denmark - Institute of Aquatic Resources, provides research, education and advice concerning sustainable exploitation of living marine and fresh water resources. DTU-Aqua conducts research on the interactions between the aquatic environment, productivity and variation in fish stocks, methods for fish stock assessment, development of methods for sustainable fisheries management and stock enhancement. The institute conducts the Danish national monitoring on fish and fisheries for the EU. DTU-Aqua has extensive experience in coordinating and managing scientific programmes, including the coordination of EU framework programmes. AquaTT is an international foundation which aims to bridge the knowledge gap between the dynamic R&D environments and the progressive commercial sector. AquaTT supports its target audiences through the provision of support services and through participation in, and coordination of EU projects and initiatives, in the area of knowledge management, including customised dissemination, education, training and technology transfer. Detailed partner profiles are available on request or from www.myfishproject.eu. Countries Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Finland, France, Croatia, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia, United Kingdom
