fisheries science and management: historical...
TRANSCRIPT
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)