Thursday
13 January 2005
4:30-5:30 pm
102 Fishery Sciences
(auditorium)
Social follows talk
Daniel SchindlerAssociate Professor, University of Washington School of Aquatic & Fishery SciencesWould We Recognize a Sustainable Fishery If We Saw One? A Case Study of Bristol Bay
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An overriding impression one might derive from both the recent scientific and public literature is that most of world’s fisheries are unsuccessful from the standpoint of conservation and long-term economic performance. Is this the case for all the world’s large fisheries? Is the title of the Bevan Series actually an oxymoron?
Although we have learned much from studying the classic fishery disasters, we have at least as much to learn from successful fisheries. Are there any reasonable examples where the human components and the biological components of fisheries have interacted in sustainable ways for reasonably long periods of time? What do these systems look like? Can we learn any general principles about the constitution of sustainable fisheries from case studies of such examples?
I provide an historical overview of the exploitation of sockeye salmon in Bristol Bay Alaska as a case study of a successful fishery. This system has been harvested for over 110 years and continues to be one of the world’s largest salmon fisheries. I describe (1) the important aspects of the biology of sockeye salmon that have contributed to its sustainability, (2) how these biological features interact with the ecosystems this species inhabits, and (3) how management has been successful because it has operated at spatial and temporal scales that match the organizing features of the ecological components of this system. Climate change and globalization of salmon markets are both currently challenging the biological and economic sustainability of the Bristol Bay fishery. Examination of past successes will help provide reasonable solutions for responding to these current challenges.
Daniel Schindler is an Associate Professor in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, and the Department of Biology, at the University of Washington. His research activities seek to understand the causes and consequences of aquatic ecosystem dynamics. Of particular interest are (1) the effects of changing climate on trophic interactions and ecosystem services provided by aquatic ecosystems, (2) fisheries as large-scale drivers of ecosystem organization, (3) importance of anadromous fishes for linking marine ecosystems to coastal aquatic and riparian systems, and (4) the importance of aquaticterrestrial coupling in the organization of aquatic ecosystems. Most of his research is done in Washington and Alaska.
Daniel Schindler provides professional service to a variety of government, private, and scientific organizations. His current activities include serving as a member of the Natural Heritage Advisory Council of Washington, a Trustee of The Nature Conservancy of Washington, a member of the Norton Sound Scientific Advisory Committee of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and a member of the Education and Human Resources Committee of the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography.
Daniel Schindler received a PhD (1995) and a MS (1992) from the Center for Limnology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He earned a BSc (1990) in Biology at the University of British Columbia where he also worked part-time for several years with the Salmon Enhancement Program of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. He spent his childhood in Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario.