Canada has indicated that its management of fisheries is based on the "best-use" principle. This principle as an operational concept can be defined as the maximization of socioeconomic returns subject to both biological and economic constraints. This paper examined how this principle can become operational in a management sense by defining the similarities and differences in the approach to fisheries management by biologists and economists and by indicating how these roles can be combined for this management. Key words: fisheries, management, biology, economics, bioeconomics