Title: History of fishing and fisheries
1History of fishing and fisheries
- Ancient history, many legends
- Artistic representations from the Egyptians
2History of fishing and fisheries
- Angling defined by Plato
- Then, now you and I have come to an
understanding, not only about the name off the
Anglers art, but about the definition of the
thing itself. One half of all Art was
acquisitive one half of this again was hunting ,
and half of hunting was hunting animals of this
again the under half was fishing, and half of
fishing was striking a part of striking was
fishing with a barb, and one half of this again
(being the kind which strikes with a hook and
draws the fish from bellow upwards) is the Art we
have been seeking, and which from the nature of
the operation is denoted Angling or drawing up
3History of fishing and fisheries
- So it seems that Plato did no think much of
fishing or fishers. If that not enough proof
listen to this - And now, let us address young men in the form of
a prayer for their welfare O Friends, may no
desire of hunting in the sea, or of catching the
creatures in the waters, ever take possession of
you, either when you are awake, or when you are
asleep, by hooks, with wheels, which latter is a
very lazy contrivance, and let no desire of
catching men, or piracy by sea, enter into your
souls.
4History of fishing and fisheries
- Plato then adds
- Only the best of hunting is allowed at all,
which is carried on by men with horses, dogs, and
mens own persons. Fishing is not an occupation
worthy of a man well born or well brought up,
because it demands more of address and ruse than
force, and is not for young people, like hunting,
the occasion of healthy exercise
5History of fishing and fisheries
- Another famous Greek philosopher, Aristotle, in
his book Natural History is the first writer to
note that fish scales make possible age
computation - what the feather is in a bird, the scale is in a
fish and that the scales of fish become harder
and thicker and in those which are wasting or
aging, become still harder so that the old fish
are distinguishable by the size and the hardness
of their scales so that in Murex which lives for
about six years and its annual increase is seen
in the divisions on the helix of its shell
6History of fishing and fisheries
- It is a Roman, Martial, who reports the first
fishing regulation - Fishing strictly prohibited because the fish
are sacred to the Emperor Domitian and a previous
intruder was smitten blind in the very act of
landing his fish
7History of fishing and fisheries
- Romans thought that
- fish and wild animals were in a state of nature
and thus belonged to no one - fish become property of the person who first
captures them - the sea and public rivers were not capable of
individual ownership - that no citizen could be prevented from fishing
in the sea and such rivers by any person.
Exceptions were a cove of the sea bordering on a
mans land, or public rivers could be protected
from fishing
8History of fishing and fisheries
- Literature on fishing is also, plentiful in the
East, particularly in China going back to at
least 1100 BC - E.g. In 473 BC, Fan Lee (in China) wrote a book
on carp aquaculture - Aquaculture now constitutes the fastest-growing
portion of world fisheries output.
9History of fishing and fisheriesmodern times
- 1200 AD English Common Law
- fish belonged to the Crown,
- they regulated fishing and the highest priority
on royal uses - In the New World, regulation was not pressing
- Curiously, Common in American law meant the
common people
10History of fishing and fisheriesmodern times
- 1600-1800 New World
- 1639 - public allocation in Mass Bay colony after
declines - first tax on cod and striped bass to support
school system - 1670s - restrictions on early season mackerel
fishing - 1684 - seines prohibited in Plymouth
11History of fishing and fisheriesmodern times
- Western US
- Salmon and halibut fished by natives
- No regulatory allocations practices were tribal
customs and beliefs - Civil War era
- Recreational fishers pressure for limits
- MA had 4000 people in cod/whale fisheries (more
than in 1980!)
12History of fishing and fisheriesmodern times
- Early 1900s
- Steam power, otter trawl
- Improved efficiency
- Later diesel engines, hydraulic power blocks,
on-board refrigeration - Stocks begin to decline (inshore bass, salmon,
shad)
13History of fishing and fisheriesmodern times
- Early 1900s
- Commissions formed
- ICES International Council for the Exploration
of the Sea - Pacific halibut Commission
- International Whaling Commission
- International salmon fisheries Commission
14History of fishing and fisheriesmodern times
- 1871
- US Congress establishes the Office of the
Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries - 1903
- Office of the Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries
becomes Bureau of Fisheries (Dept. Commerce) - 1939
- Bureau of Fisheries combined with Bureau of
Biological Survey to become Fish Wildlife
Service (Dept. Interior)
15History of fishing and fisheriesmodern times
- Conflict between commercial and recreational
interests leads to creation of (US FWS) - Bureau of Commercial Fisheries
- Bureau of Sport Fisheries Wildlife
- 1970marine fisheries management transferred to
- NMFS National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA,
Dept of Commerce)
16History of fishing and fisheriesmodern times
- Early 1900s
- Regulation of commercial fishing necessary
globally - Inland, freshwater stocks already regulated by
States - Regulation of coastal stocks not as easy
interstate and international agreements necessary
17History of fishing and fisheriesmodern times
- WW2
- Many stocks rebound, but effect does not last
long - 1949
- ICNAF
- 1950
- IATTC
- 1953
- INPC
18History of fishing and fisheriesmodern times
- 1950s
- Factory ships very large hauls
- Expansion of foreign fleets
- Spaniards 4.5 of total tonnage of foreign
vessels, but 28 of cod catch - Many collapses eventually occur
19History of fishing and fisheriesmodern times
- Perus anchoveta fishery
- Fish meal in early 1950s
- Stimulated by collapse of California sardine
- mid1960s-largest fishery in the world
- 1972-73 El Niño event
- Inshore concentration
- Poor juvenile survival
- Recruitment failure
- 1970s
- Reductions in catch needed, but
- Govt. unwilling/unable to react
- Economically unimportant
20History of fishing and fisheriesmodern times
21History of fishing and fisheriesmodern times
- Atlantic herring in North Sea
- 1903-65s 300,000 - 1MMT
- 1960s Decline
22History of fishing and fisheriesmodern times
- Atlantic herring in North Sea
- Scientists dont detect overexploitation
- Huge delays in enforcing regulations
- 2 major problems of stock assessment
- Cannot usually detect overfishing until it is
severe - Difficult to effectively reduce fishing pressure
(social, economic)
23History of fishing and fisheriesmodern times
- Collapses lead to
- Declaration of 200 mile fishing rights
- 1950-70, in US foreign fleets outcompete domestic
fisheries - ICNAF imposes mesh-size regulation, but leads to
increased effort
24History of fishing and fisheriesmodern times
- 1976
- Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act
(MFCMA) - Restrict foreign fishing and revitalize domestic
fishing - Stocks improve temporarily, but huge increase in
domestic effort - 1996
- Re-authorizationof the Magnuson (-Stevens)
Fishery Conservation and Management Act