An integrated view of fisheries: tunnelling between silos

Abstract

Global recognition of the need for an ecosystem approach to fisheries and its subsequent formalization in the 1990s and 2000s were, to me, natural and necessary developments that put a name and a clearer form to an approach that I have been pursuing throughout my career. During that progression, I have drifted from fisheries ecology into stock assessment and provision of advice for marine fisheries management and on to a stimulating mix of geographical areas and fishery themes while working for the Food and Agricultural Organization in Rome, with some detours along the way. My work has focused on supporting the application of scientific knowledge in fisheries and has broadly followed three themes: environmental influences on fish productivity, fisheries management and governance, and the role of politics and policy in fisheries. This paper reviews work on each of those themes and presents some conclusions that I have come to on the challenges and obstacles to sustainable and responsible fisheries. The more difficult of these challenges centre on conflicts between social and economic goals and the long-term need for sustainability. Unsurprisingly, I have not found any simple solutions for them, and hold the view that we can only achieve a sustainable and equitable future if we look at the big picture and address the fundamental causes of these problems.