Occurs when fish are harvested at an average size that is smaller than the size that would produce the maximum yield per recruit. When a fish stock is growth overfished, increases in fishing effort and fishing mortality produce decreasing yields, even though more individuals are harvested, because of the reduced average size of harvested individuals. In the Status of fisheries resources in NSW 2008–093, growth overfished has the specific meaning: ‘Yield per recruit would increase if length at first capture was increased or fishing mortality decreased’.
