Milner Baily ("Benny") Schaefer (1912 in Cheyenne, Wyoming – 1970 in San Diego, California[1]), is notable for his work on the population dynamics of fisheries.

From 1937 to 1942 as a scientist for the International Pacific Salmon Fisheries Commission in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada.

In 1946 he joined the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and held various posts at the Fishery Biology Headquarters at Stanford University.

[1] During his period at the IATTC, Schaefer worked on the development of theories of fishery dynamics and published [2] a fishery equilibrium model based on the Verhulst population growth model and an assumption of a bi-linear catch equation, often referred to as the Schaefer short-term catch equation:

r and K being biological parameters representing intrinsic growth rate and natural equilibrium biomass respectively.

Together, the work by Schaefer and Gordon set the basis for quantitative analyses of fisheries economics.