fisheries science and management: historical...

Fisheries Science and

Management:

Historical Perspective

Chapter 1 (IFM)

Thought for today: "You cannot survive if you do not know the past." - Oriana Fallaci,

Italian journalist (1929-2006)

Objectives

Briefly outline major events important to

understanding the history of fisheries

management.

Compare and contrast the goals of

fisheries management in the past and the

present.

Quick Discussion

Summarize the history of fisheries

management (nat. res. mgt.) in North

America in a few sentences

“Old World”

<1400-1600

Fish Culture

– China 5th century B.C.

– Advances in Europe and Asia 800-1400’s

Resource ownership

New World—Colonial North

America ~ 1600 – mid 1700s

Limitless fisheries

Public Trust Doctrine

States’ Rights Doctrine

Colonial America

(1600’s-1700’s) to mid 1800’s

Aggressive resource use

Colonial America

(1600’s-1700’s) to mid 1800’s

First law in MA 1639

Industrial Revolution and

Exploitation: 1800’s

Explosion of the Human Population

(mostly immigration) and Technology

Industrial Revolution

Commercial fishing

Alteration of rivers

Canning and refrigeration

Railroads

Clearcutting

Industrial Revolution

Increased demand for fish

Fisheries Collapses (1800s)

Brook Trout (deforestation, overfishing)

Chinook Salmon (overfishing)

Atlantic Salmon (overfishing, dams)

Sperm Whales (overfishing)

Sturgeon (Oregon, overfishing)

Atlantic cod (Overfishing, 1990s)

Shad, eels, striped bass, ground fish (cod,

sole)

Tragedy of the commons

(Hardin 1968, Science)

Salmon

Fishing (Late 1800’s)

Spruce Forests

of WVCirca 1850

Blackwater Chronicles

Moving Trees prior to Railroad

Monongahela River

Greenbrier River

Blackwater Canyon today

The Blackwater Chronicle

Spruce, WV

Response to Declines

1870: American Fish Culturalists

Association

1871: US Commission on Fish and

Fisheries

– Spencer Baird

Response to

Declines

HatcheriesPropagation

Stocking

Regs

– Close fishing

– Creel limits

Did it work?

1. Rainbow Trout (Pacific Slope to Nationwide)

1) Striped Bass (Atlantic Slope to Nationwide)

2) Chinook and Sockeye Salmon (Pacific to

Great Lakes)

3) Brown Trout (Europe to North America)

4) Brook Trout (Appalachians and upper

Midwest to Rockies)

5) Largemouth Bass (to Western US)

What was not a method used to combat declines in fish

stocks early in the history of fish mgt?

1. Biotechnology

2. Stocking

3. Closing fishing

4. Ecosystem management

5. Fish hatcheries

Fisheries Science and Management:

Historical Perspective

Thought for today: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat

it.” – George Santayana, Spanish-American philosopher (1863-1952)

Quick Quiz

What is the significance of BOFFFs to

fisheries conservation

Hints:

– What does BOFFF stand for?

– Characterize the young of BOFFFs in contrast

to non-BOFFFs

Protective and Productive Phases—

Late 1800’s to Early 1900’s

Ecological nightmare

Preservationists – Muir

Rise of Conservation Ethic – Pinchot and

Wise Use (Anthropocentric and

Conservationist, famous quote)

Leopold - land ethic (1949)

http://www.fs.fed.us/greatestgood/press/mediakit/facts/pinchot.shtml

That action is best which accomplishes the

greatest happiness for the greatest

numbers. -Francis Hutcheson, philosopher

(1694-1746)

Beginning of conservation movement

Protective and Productive Phases—

Late 1800’s to Early 1900’s

Darwin and Wallace (1858 and 1859)

Haeckel 1866

ESA 1915

Productive Phase—1930s

Leopold: Game Management 1933

Hubbs and Eschmeyer: “The Improvement of Lakes for Fishing: a Method of Fish Management” 1937

– began fisheries management as a field

Haldane, Fisher, Wright 1930s; the new synthesis (i.e., neo-Darwinism)

W/F management – game management

Laws and acts: P-R and D-J Acts

Mid 1900’s—Environmental

Movement

Rise of Quantitative Ecology, Population

and Trophic Dynamics Theory

– Filtered into Fisheries Mgt

– Food chains, food webs, trophic levels, MSY

1960s Rachel Carson

1970s Environmental Decade

– Balance of Nature idea

Maximum Sustainable Yield

– Conservationist and anthropocentric

– Benefits of MSY

Spectacular Failures

Mid 1900’s

Lessons to be Learned about MSY

1. Variation in population parameters

2. Influence from environmental factors

3. Lags

RIP MSY

Larkin 1977 Epitaph to MSY

Current Age—Late 1900’s and

Early 2000’s

~ 1980s

Rise of Ecosystem Management

–Biodiversity crisis

–Interconnectedness of ecosystems

–Human dimensions

–OSY

Based on Leopold’s “Land Ethic”

instead of the “Wise Use” ethic of

Pinchot

Late 1900’s and Early 2000’s

2 Principles of Leopold’s Ethic

1. Humanity is best served by preserving natural life support systems.

2. Indigenous ecological systems have intrinsic value that should be respected.

ANTHROPOCENTRIC and INTRINSIC ETHIC

Late 1900’s and Early 2000’s

Modern Fisheries Management as Ecosystem Management

Olver et al. 1995

“The objective of modern fisheries management should be the protection, maintenance, and rehabilitation of native biota, their habitats, and life-support systems to ensure ecosystem sustainability.”

Late 1900’s and Early 2000’s

Modern Fisheries Management as Ecosystem Management

(Olver et al. 1995)

Fundamental Principle

Aquatic ecosystems should be managed to ensure the long-term sustainability of native fish stocks

Late 1900’s and Early 2000’s

Modern Fisheries Management as Ecosystem Management

(Olver et al. 1995)

Principles of Ecosystem Protection

1. The sustainability of fish stocks requires protection of the specific physical and chemical habitat utilized by members of that stock.

2. The sustainability of a fish stock requires the maintenance of its supporting native community.

Ecosystem-based Management

Papers

Olver et al. 1995

Lackey 2001

Link 2002

Bigford 2013

Really!?…we are still trying to figure this

out!!?? (see Link 2002)