Shifting Baselines The Past and the Future of Ocean Fisheries

Shifting Baselines explores the real-world implications of a groundbreaking idea: we must understand the oceans of the past to protect the oceans of the future. In 1995, acclaimed marine biologist Daniel Pauly coined the term "shifting baselines" to descr

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Shifting Baselines the past and the future of ocean fisheries

edited by

Jeremy B. C. Jackson, Karen E. Alexander, and Enric Sala

Washington | Covelo | London

Copyright © 2011 Island Press All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher: Island Press, 1718 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20009 Island Press is a trademark of The Center for Resource Economics. Figures designed by Sherry Palmer Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Shifting baselines : the past and the future of ocean fisheries / edited by Jeremy B.C. Jackson Karen Alexander, and Enric Sala. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-1-61091-000-2 (hardback) ISBN-10: 1-61091-000-1 (cloth) ISBN-13: 978-1-61091-001-9 (paper) 1. Fisheries—History. 2. Fishery management. I. Jackson, Jeremy B. C., 1942– II. Alexander, Karen, 1951 III. Sala, Enric. SH211.S45 2011 338.3′727—dc22 2011005032

Printed on recycled, acid-free paper

Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Keywords: fisheries management, marine ecosystems, biodiversity, historical ecology, maximum sustainable yield, fishing down the food web, anchovy, sardine, cod

We dedicate this book to our friend and colleague Daniel Pauly for his fundamental insight in how problems of shifting baselines shape and distort our lives.

contents

Introduction: The Importance of Shifting Baselines jeremy b. c. jackson and karen e. alexander PART I

1

THE PROBLEM DEFINED

9

Chapter 1

A Shoreline Remembrance carl safina

13

Chapter 2

The “March of Folly” in Global Fisheries u. rashid sumaila and daniel pauly

21

Chapter 3

If a Frond Falls in the Kelp Forest (does it make any sound?) randy olson

33

PART II ANCHOVIES AND SARDINES

43

Chapter 4

The Sardine-Anchovy Puzzle alec d. maccall

47

Chapter 5

Variations in Fisheries and Complex Ocean Environments david b. field, francisco chavez, carina b. lange, and paul e. smith

PART III Chapter 6

Chapter 7

COD The Historical Abundance of Cod on the Nova Scotian Shelf w. jeffrey bolster, karen e. alexander, and william b. leavenworth History and Context: Reflections from Newfoundland daniel vickers, with loren mcclenachan

59

77

79

115

PART IV METHODS IN HISTORICAL MARINE ECOLOGY

135

Chapter 8

Uncovering the Ocean’s Past heike k. lotze, jon m. erlandson, marah j. hardt, richard d. norris, kaustuv roy, tim d. smith, and christine r. whitcraft

137

Chapter 9

Whales, Logbooks, and DNA stephen r. palumbi

163

PART V FROM FISHERIES MANAGEMENT TO ECOSYSTEMS

175

Chapter 10 Management in the Gulf of Maine andrew a. rosenberg, karen e. alexander, and jamie m. cournane

177

Chapter 11 Lessons from Coral Reefs enric sala and jeremy b. c. jackson

193

Chapter 12 Epilogue: Shifting Baselines for the Future jeremy b. c. jackson and karen e. alexander

205

Notes

207

Contributors

275

Index

283

Introduction: The Importance