HR: 10:35h
AN: B32A-02    [Abstracts]
TI: Earth Systems, Fish and Fishers: Global Dependence and a Not-so-Quiet Revolution
AU: * Werner, F E
EM: cisco@unc.edu
AF: Marine Sciences Department, 12-7 Venable Hall, CB# 3300 University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599 United States
AU: Barange, M
EM: m.barange@pml.ac.uk
AF: GLOBEC IPO, Plymouth Marine Laboratory Prospect Place, Prospect Place, PL1 3DH United Kingdom
AU: Perry, R I
EM: perryi@pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca
AF: Pacific Biological Station, Fisheries & Oceans Canada 3190 Hammond Bay Road, Nanaimo, BC V9T 6N7 Canada
AU: Ommer, R
EM: ommer@uvic.ca
AF: University of Victoria, P.O. Box 1700 STN CSC, Victoria, BC V8W 2Y2 Canada
AB: Paleoceanographic records of fish abundance have demonstrated the existence of cycles of abundance in many fish stocks, such as sockeye salmon, sardines, and anchovies. Some of these cycles have frequencies that coincide with oscillations in the global climate and in the earth rotational velocity, suggesting the interlinked nature of the Earth System and its functioning. However, the development of large industrial fisheries, particularly in the second half of the 20th century, has overwhelmed many of these low frequency cycles of natural marine productivity. Selective overexploitation of the sea has severely damaged some fisheries resources and caused large-scale ecosystem disruptions. The result has been imbalanced marine ecosystems which are more vulnerable to collapse during low phases of their production cycles and a crisis in the survival of small fishing communities. Humans rely on the sea and its products to meet our needs for protein, linking the dynamics of the earth with issues of global food security. How to synchronize and balance the dynamics of the Earth system and the human needs for food, rather than compound their effects, is a major management challenge. This contribution will provide examples of this challenge, such as the post-cod scenario in Newfoundland ecosystems and human communities, and the dynamics of salmon and First Nations cultures in the NE Pacific. We will illustrate some of the approaches being followed, from basin-scale ecosystem modeling through complex adaptive systems theory to integrated cross-disciplinary team studies of social-ecological systems (e.g., Coasts Under Stress http://www.coastsunderstress.ca/), in the search for global sustainability of fish and fishers.
DE: 4815 Ecosystems, structure and dynamics
DE: 6620 Science policy
DE: 1600 GLOBAL CHANGE (New category)
DE: 1635 Oceans (4203)
DE: 0400 Biogeosciences
SC: Biogeosciences [B]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting