1. A reference point indicates a particular state of a fishery indicator corresponding to a situation considered as desirable (target reference point) or undesirable and requiring immediate action (limit reference point and threshold reference point); 2. An estimated value derived from an agreed scientific procedure and/or model, which corresponds to a specific state of the resource and of the fishery, and that can be used as a guide for fisheries management. Reference points may be general (applicable to many stocks) or stock-specific; 3. Values of parameters (e.g. BMSY, FMSY, F0. 1) that are useful benchmarks for guiding management decisions. Biological reference points are typically limits that should not be exceeded with significant probability (e.g. MSST) or targets for management (e.g. OY).