Maximum sustainable yield harvesting in an age‐structured fishery population model

A generic type age‐structured fishery population model consisting of two harvestable age classes is formulated. Optimal harvest rates are determined with uniform fishing mortality and perfectly selective fishing, respectively. Selectivity allows for differentiating the fishing mortality among different age classes. Sustainable yield–biomass functions are developed, and the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) solutions are found under both exploitation schemes. The gain of perfectly selective fishing over uniform (or biomass) fishing is examined under various assumptions, and it is proved that the benefit of selective harvesting increases when the harvestable fish population becomes more heterogeneous in terms of weights, or values. In contrast to the surplus production model, or Clark model, the analysis also demonstrates that MSY with different age classes is not purely a biological concept.