An Exposition on Overfishing

The concept of overfishing was formulated in the 19^th century as the result of declining stocks of plaice and herring in the North Sea.  However, the overfishing concept was difficult to define until the advent of quantitative fishing theory in the 1950s.  But even with the quantitative theory, the definition of overfishing remains abstract and illusory.  This paper discusses the overfishing and overfished concepts in terms of specific fisheries in New England in the context of specific case studies that consider the costs and benefits of over and underfishing in New England.  In particular, the paper considers the scientific underpinning of the concept, the costs and benefits of overfishing/overfished as a management tool, and alternative approaches.