Does the RBF allow fisheries an easy pass against the standard?
No. Where data are limited and thus a potentially higher level of uncertainty exists, the MSC needs to be very confident that the MSC standard is being met. The RBF methods in FAM v2 thus take an even more precautionary approach than with standard MSC assessments using the default Performance Indicators and Scoring Guideposts alone. As an analogy to this situation, consider walking along a cliff edge where the edge corresponds to the point where the fishery is exploited sustainably, but to its maximum (Maximum Sustainable Yield; or MSY). Falling over the cliff corresponds to overexploiting the fishery. On a clear, calm day with good visibility (i.e. when all the data needed to manage the fishery are available) you may be able to walk along the cliff edge confidently but carefully. If, however, you were to walk this same cliff edge in the fog and wind with limited visibility (i.e. with limited data) you would no doubt wish to stay further away from the cliff edge – just in case. In prac
