To what extend fishing is economically profitable in the long term by considering the yield, the operating costs and the fishing effort. A specific constant effort will result in the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) being achieved. This is the maximum annual catch that can be taken from a species’ stock over an indefinite period without jeopardizing that stock. The maximum economic yield (MEY), by contrast, is a monetary variable. It is equivalent to the maximum annual earnings from fishing, and represents the largest difference between total revenues and total costs. The MEY is attained at a lower level of effort than the MSY. Without regulation, the fishing effort would increase for as long as fishing remained commercially viable, i.e. as long as the earnings obtained from fishing remain positive. In an unregulated fishery, the effort is therefore the point at which revenue and costs are equally high.

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