The drawbacks of this single-species management approach have led to calls for an ecosystem based approach to fishery management, but, for most fisheries, this has yet to be operationalized in terms of setting the fishery reference points that dictate rebuilding requirements. Our current reliance on single-species population models and equilibrium reference points will become even more problematic as climate change alters the spatial ranges and productivity of fish stocks. A forward looking approach that attempts to anticipate future changes in ecosystems is necessary but presents a difficult challenge for fishery scientists and may require changes in legislation that currently requires managers to adhere to reference points based on single-species maximum sustainable yield.