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Plenty more fish in the sea?
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-18, 15:37 authored by Reginald WatsonReginald Watson, Pitcher, TJ, Jennings, SOnly in the last century did humans overwhelmingly accept that fisheries resources are finite. Consequently, ‘there are more fish still in the sea than ever came out of it’ served as a popular metaphor for unbounded expectations for half a millennium, expectations that also extended to use of the planet in general. By reconstructing historical fishing back 1200 years, we identify when this metaphor actually ceased to be true. For some of our most important stocks, it has not been true for centuries, although surprisingly, for fishes globally, it applied until the last century. We demonstrate, however, that there can still be ‘plenty more fish in the sea’ and that with effective management they provide a continuous flow of benefits for our future.
Funding
Australian Research Council
History
Publication title
Fish and FisheriesVolume
18Pagination
105-113ISSN
1467-2960Department/School
Institute for Marine and Antarctic StudiesPublisher
Blackwell Publishing LtdPlace of publication
9600 Garsington Rd, Oxford, England, Oxon, Ox4 2DgRights statement
Copyright 2015 John Wiley & Sons LtdRepository Status
- Restricted