Revolution in the Seas

Ending Overfishing and Building Pesco-Ecology, Sustainable Agro-Ecology of Fishing

1st Edition - October 26, 2023
Author: Didier Gascuel
Language: English
Paperback ISBN:
9 7 8 - 0 - 4 4 3 - 1 5 9 1 0 - 7
eBook ISBN:
9 7 8 - 0 - 4 4 3 - 1 5 9 1 1 - 4

Revolution in the Seas: Ending Overfishing and Building Pesco-ecology, Sustainable Agro-Ecology of Fishing provides an in-depth analysis of the dynamics between humans and disru… Read more

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Revolution in the Seas: Ending Overfishing and Building Pesco-ecology, Sustainable Agro-Ecology of Fishing provides an in-depth analysis of the dynamics between humans and disrupting marine ecosystems by extracting its wild animals. It highlights practical changes that can be implemented to prevent overfishing and create a new way of fishing, the pescoecology that benefits marine life, coastal communities, and human consumers alike.

Written by a leader in fisheries science and conservation, this book begins by diagnosing the issue of overexploitation, showing the dynamics and consequences on living marine resources and ecosystems. It then goes on to demonstrate how recent scientific discoveries, including tropic network functionality, are changing humans’ approach to fishing sustainably. The final sections are devoted to ecological, economic, and social solutions.

Revolution in the Seas is a vital resource for fisheries scientists, managers, academics and students in marine biology or fisheries studies. All stakeholders and citizens involved in building a sustainable relationship between humans and the sea will also benefit from this book’s revolutionary content.

Cover image
Title page
Table of Contents
Copyright
Dedication
About the author
Foreword
Introduction: Fishing, mining, and agricultures
Part I: The dynamics of overfishing the marine ecosystems
Part I Introduction
Chapter 1 When humankind comes up against the limits of the biosphere
Abstract
In times of plenty
Early impacts and early blindness
The inexhaustible sea?
The steam and trawl revolution
Technical progress to conquer the oceans
Fewer boats, but considerably more kilowatts
The production peak is behind us
North Sea catches and ecosystem exploitation
When collapse occurs
Have we emptied the seas?
Eight kilograms per person and no more
References
Websites
Chapter 2 Warning, disruption in the marine ecosystems!
Abstract
Replacement and succession, the merry-go-round of species
Regime shifts in ecosystems
Fishing to low trophic levels
Selection on the seabed: octopus, langoustine… and marine worms
Trawls and dredges are under scrutiny
Fishing and climate change
When phenotypes and genotypes get involved
From genotype to genetic diversity
Species biodiversity in question
From species biodiversity to functional biodiversity
Prey and predator, two different jobs
A jellification of the oceans?
From the kelp forests to urchin barrens
Harmful algae and dead zones in the ocean
The seabed plunged into darkness
A future of parasites and pathogens
The challenge of marine pollution
Critical habitats under attack
Biological invasions due to globalization
Climate disruption on the agenda
The four sides of ecosystem degradation
References
Websites
Part II: Fisheries management—From theory to powerlessness
Part II Introduction
Chapter 3 When theory helps us understand the world
Abstract
Nature’s great balance
From the ‘good savage’ to Mother Nature’s banquet
The balance is dynamic
Models and fish, or the foundations of scientific advice
Schaefer sets out the formula
More fishers, fewer fish… but still the balance
Overfishing and maximum sustainable yield
From theoretical model to regulation: Fishing effort, fishing rates, and quotas
A production function, or the exposure of an economic aberration
The bioeconomic model changes the optimum
Smaller fish… and fewer small fish
Growth and recruitment overfishing
A change in mesh size
‘Ecology’, did you say?
Putting certainties aside in a time of questioning
Propagation in food webs
Maturation and disturbances in ecosystems
Socio-ecosystems
From local to global, or the emergence of complexity
From complexity to fisheries management: where do we stand now?
References
Websites
Chapter 4 The long battle for fisheries management
Abstract
Prolegomena
Let’s restock the sea…
… and repopulate the oceans
First attempts, first conflicts
The missed opportunity in London
The maximum sustainable yield putsch
The utter powerlessness of international fisheries commissions
The battle for the 200 nmi
European fisheries: Born into impotence
Schizophrenia and procrastination in Brussels
Pulling back from the brink
Progress in the North and global regression
The concept of surplus and looting in the South
The challenge of the pirate fleets
Blind to a disaster
The strange forces of decline
Overfishing, ecosystems: What is the state of play?
References
Website
Part III: Three radical changes required for a revolution in the seas
Part III Introduction
Chapter 5 Maintain fishing and minimize the impact: The smart predator
Abstract
Aquaculture is a complement, not a replacement
Ecological footprint and food security
Maintaining fishing means placing humankind within the ecosystem
Healthy means productive and resilient
Ecosystem services and global health
Where are the boundaries?
Affirming an ethical principle
Sea and land—What are the differences?
Minimization is a trajectory
Maximum sustainable yield will not be enough
From stock to fishery, what compromise between different species?
Minimizing the impact on food webs
Fishing for the eaters of lion-eaters
Bottom trawling is doomed
Biodiversity—Marine protected areas to the rescue
Faced with global change, let’s develop pesco-ecology
References
Website
Chapter 6 Maximizing economic and social utility: With humankind as the goal
Abstract
Economy and ecology, hand in hand?
Economics is not enough
Ecological and thus competitive
The temptation of ecological economics
Nature is invaluable
Fishing, an asset for the development of coastal areas
Fishing is about catching food for a living… and a lot more
Overcapacity or access rights
ITQs, or the evils of economic liberalism
The fox in the henhouse
A move towards collectively managed individual quotas
Limiting catches … and fishing effort
Work less and earn more
A second radical change: the principle of maximization
Artisanal fishing versus industrial fishing?
Should the high seas be closed?
Fleet-based management
The four pillars of sustainable development
References
Website
Chapter 7 Guaranteeing the common interest: New democratic requirements
Abstract
The Hardin tragedy
Marine resources, a common good for humankind
Elinor Ostrom’s eight principles
The ecosystem, a territory for governance
Building collective dynamics for adaptive management
The States’ democratic guarantee and co-management
Incentives or sanctions: The need for controls
Training and information, two keys to progress
Good news: The development of the internet and an influx of women
Key stakeholders: The future generations
Building the partnership with NGOs
Good and bad subsidies
Consumer power: Demand for an ecolabel
Fishing in the South and global governance: Equity rather than equality
Pesco-ecology, reconciling the scales
References
Website
Epilogue: A challenge for humankind
Acknowledgements
Index

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