Dr. Ray Hilborn Discusses the State of World Fisheries, and more…[Video]

“Doomsday will come to fishes across the world’s oceans by 2048.”  That was the startling implication of findings published in 2006 by marine ecologist Boris Worm of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, and several colleagues.

The projection, published in a paper in Science magazine, was about the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem services in the oceans, and concluded that the world’s oceans were in bad shape, in part because of overfishing.

But many fisheries scientists were appalled.  In fact, one prominent critic was Dr. Ray Hilborn, a professor in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, specializing in natural resource management and conservation.

Trained in quantitative techniques for determining the abundance of fish stocks, Hilborn and others  questioned the methods used in Worm’s global assessment.  The conflict continued a charged and long-simmering debate between marine ecologists and fisheries scientists about the status of the world’s ocean ecosystems.

Yet, less than a year later, as recounted in a Science magazine article entitled “Détante in the Fisheries War,” Hilborn and Worm began meeting on neutral ground to hammer out their differences. Working under the auspices of the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis(NCEAS) in Santa Barbara, California, Hilborn and Worm brought together some 20 scientists from their respective disciplines as well as dozens of graduate students.

Initial results from this collaboration were published in the July 31, 2009 issue of Science magazine: Rebuilding Global Fisheries.

A new series of videos posted on WorldNews provides a video account of the highlights of this ground-breaking research.  Three videos feature Dr. Hilborn on the state of the world’s fisheries. Another video, including interviews with both Hilborn and Boris Worm, highlights findings in the Rebuilding Global Fisheries study, and yet another video presents Dr. Hilborn’s remarks at a Science Advisory Team meeting of the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative in southern California, critiquing the state’s rigid size and spacing guidelines governing marine protected area placement in the Golden State.

The first three videos are posted below:

Concept of ‘fishing down food webs’ shown to be a myth

By Ray Hilborn (originally published in Pacific Fishing magazine, Jan. 2011)

Ray Hilborn

Perhaps no image of the impact of fish has captured the public as much as “fishing down food webs.”

The idea is very simple: Fishing begins, quite naturally, on the largest, most valuable fish. Once those are gone, fishermen move down the food webs to smaller, less valuable fish, and so on until the oceans are empty.

As Daniel Pauly, the prime apostle of the concept, has often said, we will soon have nothing to eat but jellyfish and zooplankton soup. This neatly fits the “apocalyptic” narrative that is so beloved by some environmental activists, but like many of these narratives, it is wishful thinking.

Pauly’s original paper, published in 1998, showed that the average fish caught in the world was becoming smaller and ever lower on the food web. This has been one of the most influential papers in the history of fisheries science. The “food web index” has been adopted by the Convention on Biodiversity and other groups as the best indicator of the health of marine ecosystems.

Read the rest here.

Biologically inexplicable boom highlights uncertainty about management

BIG INK: Julie Stewart, a graduate student at Hopkins Marine Station, sits next to a rendering of a Humboldt squid printed in its own ink. Photo by Nic Coury

By Danna Staaf

On Dec. 17, 2010, the California market squid-fishing season was closed for the first time in history. The statewide catch hit the harvest limit of 118,000 tons, with 20,000 tons caught in Monterey Bay and 98,000 tons in Southern California, bringing in a total of $59 million.

Read the rest of the story here.

California Fish and Game Commission Gives Final Approval for South Coast Marine Protected Areas

The California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) adopted regulations to create a new suite of marine protected areas (MPAs) in Southern California. At a Commission meeting in Santa Barbara today, the regulations were adopted as part of the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA), which requires California to reexamine and redesign its system of MPAs with the goals to, among other things, increase the effectiveness of MPAs in protecting the state’s marine life and habitats, marine ecosystems and marine natural heritage.

Informed by recommendations generated through a two-year public planning process, the regulations will create 36 new MPAs encompassing approximately 187 square miles (8 percent) of state waters in the study region. Approximately 116 square miles (4.9 percent) have been designated as no-take state marine reserves (82.5 square miles/3.5 percent) and no-take state marine conservation areas (33.5 square miles/1.4 percent), with the remainder designated as state marine conservation areas with different take allowances and varying levels of protection. In addition to approving the MPA regulations, the Commission also certified the environmental impact report prepared pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act.

Read the rest of the news release here.

State panel approves creation of protected marine area off Southern California coast

December 15, 2010

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) — State wildlife regulators voted Wednesday to create a zone of protected areas off the Southern California coast where fishing and other activities will be restricted or banned.

The Fish and Game Commission listened to hours of public comment before approving the marine protected area along a 250-mile arc of coastline from the Mexican border to Santa Barbara County.

To comply with the state’s Marine Life Protection Act of 1999, California’s 1,100-mile coast was divided into five sections. Two protected areas were previously created in Northern and Central California. Southern California is the third area to undergo the process.

The establishment of such areas has been a particularly thorny issue in Southern California, where conservationists, fishermen and seaside business interests have collided.

The commission voted 3-2 in favor of the protected area. Supporters clapped when the vote was cast. Many had urged the panel to increase the size of the protected locations within the reserve.

The process appeared to have done little to quell opposition, even though the proposal has been in the works for two years and was aired at dozens of public hearings.

Fishing industry experts expressed concern about the survival of their industry. California Fisheries Coalition manager Vern Goehring and others predicted lawsuits.

“The public image or message that proponents are giving is this is a great thing protecting the ocean,” Goehring said. “But in reality, most people know if you regulate fishing — which is already regulated — it doesn’t do anything new about water quality, coastal development and other threats.”

Read the rest of the story here.

Dr. Doyle Hanan Talking Sardine Research on KNX-AM Los Angeles

Dr. Doyle Hanan was interviewed today on KNX-AM 1070 (Los Angeles) about the sardine research project. You can listen here.

Sardine count on Central Coast: Science, business mix

Money on the line for county fishermen in aerial photo project

By MIKE HORNICK, The Californian
October 2, 2010

Moss Landing-based fisherman Andy Russo is a skipper, not a scientist. But he’d swap a line and net for a test tube and white lab coat if it put more sardines in his next catch.

It just might.

Russo is helping scientists with a project that could help his bottom line.

Since August, the California Wetfish Producers Association, a nonprofit industry group, has been flying aerial photography missions on the Pacific coast from Canada to Mexico, capturing images of massive sardine schools below the water’s surface. Russo and other fishermen take occasional hauls from the schools to establish density and weight.

The fishing purse seiner Eileen approaches schools of sardines, which appear as black masses on this enhanced photo.

Read the rest of the story from the Salinas Californian here.

Judge rules MLPA officials must release public records

photo credit: TheTruthAbout…

By Ed Zieralski

September 30, 2010 at 8:56 p.m.

A Sacramento County Superior Court judge ruled Thursday that the Blue Ribbon Task Force and the Master Plan Team for the Marine Life Protection Act South Coast Region are “state agencies” and must adhere to the California Public Records Act.

Judge Patrick Marlette ruled in favor of San Diego’s Robert C. Fletcher, saying the agencies must release all requested documents related to the South Coast Region of the Marine Life Protection Act by Oct. 10.

The Blue Ribbon Task Force and the Master Plan Team have been charged with drawing up proposals for enactment of the Marine Life Protection Act.

Read the rest of the story at the San Diego Union-Tribune here.

Pilot Jeff Laboff Talking Sardine Research on KTVA Ventura

Pilot Jeff Laboff was recently interviewed on KTVA-AM 1520 (Ventura) about the sardine research project.  You can listen here.

Berkeley Chef Loves Sardines from Monterey Bay

Chef Alice Waters

Founder-owner of Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley, CA:

“As fishing worldwide has become more industrialized, it is very important to buy from local sustainable fisheries. I happen to love the sardines that come from Monterey Bay.

“At Chez Panisse, we like to fillet them, cure them lightly with salt, and marinate them with garlic, lemon, herbs, and good olive oil. They are delicious served slightly warmed on garlicky grilled toast.”

See more at Sunset magazine here.