Sustainability of exploited ecologically interdependent species. Issue 3 (22nd March 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ghosh, Bapan; Kar, Tapan Kumar; Legović, Tarzan
• Is Part Of: Population ecology. Volume 56:Issue 3(2014)
• Page Start: 527
• Page End: 537
• Publication Date: 2014-03-22
• Subjects: Extinction -- Food chain -- Harvesting -- Maximum sustainable yield -- Maximum sustainable total yield -- Top predator; Animal populations -- Periodicals; Insect populations -- Periodicals; 591.788
• DOI: 10.1007/s10144-014-0436-3
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1438-3896

Abstract

Abstract: This paper examines the application of maximum sustainable yield (MSY) policy in ecosystem and indicates when the ecosystem based fisheries management approach is required for conservation purpose. To describe the possible impacts of applying global MSY policy in an ecosystem, we have considered both specialist and generalist prey–predator models with different fishing efforts. It is found that harvesting both prey and predator species in specialist prey–predator systems, to achieve global maximum sustainable total yield (MSTY) under independent efforts, will cause the extinction of the predator species. In contrast, the global MSTY may exist in a generalist prey–predator system. If global MSTY does not exist, then it is due to the extinction of predator species. Hence, the prey species never goes to extinction under independent efforts and this scenario is quite different from the one found under combined harvesting effort.