A History of Fisheries
BIOL 448J/ FISH 506E 3 credits Dr Tony J Pitcher (Fisheries Centre) AERL 120: 2008W Term 2, Jan-Apr 2009, Tuesday, Thursday, 2.00 -4.00 Rationale: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” (Santayana, The Life of Reason, 1905). This multi-disciplinary course examines the history of human fishing in order to understand its impacts on natural ecosystems, development and sustainability. Lessons for the future and the possible effects of climate change will be discussed. The course is illustrated with many examples and short case studies world wide. It assumes no prior knowledge of the topic: ecological and other fishery issues will be explained from first principles; a small amount of high school math will be needed to cover the quantitative theory of fisheries. The course will include options among material suitable for a non-scientist stream, a science undergraduate stream and a graduate student stream.
Format: The course will include lecture sessions, seminars and discussions based on historical films, a small amount of practical work, discussions with local BC fishers, reading and a formal debate. Assessment will be based on multiple choice tests and homework exercises through the course, which will differ among the three entry streams, while all will submit an essay based on the debate topic. There will be no formal examination. Synopsis (draft) 1. The history of fishing gear and technology. Archaeological, archival and artistic evidence about the development of human fishing. The origins and development of spears, hooks, traps and nets; 2. Fish as Food in Antiquity. Nutritional values of fish. The Garum trade and the ancient world. The eulachon and BC First Nations. 3. The impacts of fishing gear on fish populations and aquatic ecosystems. The three ratchets. 4. Depletions ancient and modern. Serial depletions. North to South and back again. Seamounts and deep sea fisheries. 5. Introduction to the quantitative basis of fisheries ecology. The origins and history of surplus production and dynamic pool fishery models. 6. The ecosystem perspective and trophic levels. 7. What is overfishing? Fishing down the food web. 8. Social aspects: coastal fishing communities. Malthusian overfishing. 9. Economic aspects: investments, discounting, intergenerational discounting; Recreational fisheries: fishing for fun or profit? 10. Some historical case studies: Fisheries in Newfoundland, BC, Chile, the North Sea, the Antarctic. Fisheries in the African Great Lakes. Whaling Yesterday and Today. 10. Responsible Fisheries: the UN Code of Conduct and compliance. Illegal and unreported (IUU) fishing. 11. The Future: Climate change and fisheries. Eco-labelling. Solutions for food security; Agencies, institutions and the management of fisheries: FAO, RFMOs, DFO, and others; The roles of NGOs and research projects: including WWF, Greenpeace, HMAP, Sea Around Us, Project Seahorse, The Sea Ahead. Debate: “History is bunk”, Henry Ford. Two teams will debate Henry Ford’s saying in relation to the history of fisheries. Two 10- minute speakers on each side will be supported by the class divided into teams. Films: “Feast or Famine” 1978; “Mattanza” 1980. Follow up team discussions on , “What has changed?” Practical sessions: How Knot to Make a Fish Net. Simple Simon’s Spreadsheet of A Fishery. Fuzzy Food Webs. Guest Lectures: Dr Daniel Pauly, Dr Diane Newell, Dr David Close and others TBA.
Suggested Text Book: Callum Roberts (2008) The Unnatural History of the Sea. Island Press. UNDERGRADUATE REGISTRATION: https://courses.students.ubc.ca/cs/main?pname=subjarea&tname=subjareas&req=3&dept=BIOL&course=448J GRADUATE REGISTRATION: https://courses.students.ubc.ca/cs/main?pname=subjarea&tname=subjareas&req=3&dept=FISH&course=506E