Pigs in Trough
The Abuse of Optimum Yield in the MSA and Single Species Management
By Erik Velsko
December 6, 2022
The Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act (MSA) was put into legislation in 1976 to Americanize our federal fisheries. The MSA contains ten national standards that are applied and interpreted in the management and creation of fisheries policy. These ten standards seek to strike a balance between economic and social aspects of fisheries and communities. There is no formula for balancing the ten national standards, and as a result we have seen some standards prioritized over others.