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Scientific research for the fisheries of today and tomorrow
Fisheries Research, 1 (1981/1982) 1--2 Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam -- Printed in The Netherlands
Editorial SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH FOR THE FISHERIES OF TODAY AND TOMORROW
G.L. KESTEVEN Editor-in-Chief Fisheries Research
As food-gathering by individuals, fishing is presumably as old as mankind itself, or nearly so, give or take a few hundred thousand years. It can scarcely be otherwise, since primitive man must have lived near water and, seeking whatever might serve him as food, must have discovered the resources of the sea-shore and developed skills to seize fish swimming in shallow waters. The first members of the species Homo sapiens who caught fish added one more name to an already long list of predators exploiting the living resources of the waters, and entered into competition with those other predators. And fishing today, man continues to be, strictly speaking, only one more element in the ecosystem, a fact which m a n y people often forget, or deliberately ignore. As an economic activity, artesenal fishing is perhaps as old as the exchange of goods by barter, whereas fully commercial fishing is perhaps as old as trade. Certainly there exist records of sale of fish some thousands of years ago. In fishing, as in agriculture, these three kinds -- or grades -- of activity have been maintained through the ages. And, marching through time, while perfecting its tools and skills and accumulating knowledge, each has been followed by a swarm of persistent ideas and opinions about it, some accurate, m a n y grossly mistaken, held by people who do n o t even go fishing. As a result, fishing has suffered, at times very considerably, from a hangover from the past. Fishermen occupied or were assigned to a low place in the social scale, and upon them and those who worked with them was imported the dislike for the smell of stinking fish and for the circumstances of their work. Hence, for example, the disdainful c o n t e m p t in much of the use of the term "fish-wife". The effect of these ideas and opinions was to set fisheries, the people engaged in them and the activity itself, apart from society; in some countries this separateness was enforced by strict social rules whereas in others it was maintained by economic measures. Not only was it assumed that all fishermen were illiterate, smelly and foul-mouthed, and unfit to enter polite society; it was also assumed that this state of affairs would continue always -- as the poor are always with us -- and that society had no obligations toward the industry, its operators or its resources. Not long ago, only about 100 years, an eminent English biologist could declare, with u t m o s t conviction, that the resources of the seas were inex-
0165-7836/81/0000--0000/$02.50 © 1981 Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company
haustible and could n o t be harmed by fishing. This, of course, we now know to be quite erroneous, and it is known to be so by a great m a n y people. Nor do we subscribe to the claim made in the nineteen-fifties -- also by a biologist, and one of international standing although of considerably lesser stature -- that fisheries were then at the last frontier that man must cross in his pursuit of food. Nevertheless, we have good grounds for believing that in the future the living aquatic resources will yield a great deal more food and other materials, than that which biologists currently estimate could be taken with today's equipment and methods employed with the most faithful observation of the most carefully formulated rules of rational fishing. But in the achievement of that result we shall have much more to do than to avoid a destruction of resources or to find ways of exploiting what some people call " n o n c o n v e n t i o n a l species". The potential of fish-culture, which has the ability n o t only to cultivate existing resources but also to create new resources, cannot be estimated, although there can be little doubt that it is very considerable. Still less can we estimate the potential that will be within our reach when new biotechnologies of direct intervention in free-living resources become available. In respect of these matters fisheries no longer stand apart but, instead, are deeply involved in some of the most important problems confronting our society today. Thus, the protection of natural resources is but one element of the general strategy of protection of our habitat so as to ensure the permanence of an environment suitable for h u m a n life. Similarly the rational and comprehensive use of natural resources, which is required by the general strategy with regard to our habitat and by the satisfaction of our physical appetites, implies the emergence of a new regime for the c o n d u c t of the affairs of society. In addition to reporting on technological and scientific advances, it is the purpose of this new journal to deal also with fisheries science in a much broader c o n t e x t as mentioned above. Its scope is international and interdisciplinary, and the articles to be included in it should be of direct interest and meaning to others besides those of the scientific fisheries community. The c o n t e n t of Fisheries Research will be varied, we hope, n o t only in terms of subject matter, but also in the type of article published. Original scientific papers, occasional review articles and 'Guest Editorials', items of news and announcements will all be included. Original contributions and reviews will all be subject to refereeing by members of the Editorial Advisory Board and should be prepared according to the 'Guide for Authors' of the journal which is included in this issue on pp. 77--81. It is hoped that Fisheries Research will soon become recognised as the international forum for papers contributing to a continued dialogue and debate on important matters of world fisheries. All those having a contribution to make are herewith warmly invited to participate.
Editorial SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH FOR THE FISHERIES OF TODAY AND TOMORROW
G.L. KESTEVEN Editor-in-Chief Fisheries Research
As food-gathering by individuals, fishing is presumably as old as mankind itself, or nearly so, give or take a few hundred thousand years. It can scarcely be otherwise, since primitive man must have lived near water and, seeking whatever might serve him as food, must have discovered the resources of the sea-shore and developed skills to seize fish swimming in shallow waters. The first members of the species Homo sapiens who caught fish added one more name to an already long list of predators exploiting the living resources of the waters, and entered into competition with those other predators. And fishing today, man continues to be, strictly speaking, only one more element in the ecosystem, a fact which m a n y people often forget, or deliberately ignore. As an economic activity, artesenal fishing is perhaps as old as the exchange of goods by barter, whereas fully commercial fishing is perhaps as old as trade. Certainly there exist records of sale of fish some thousands of years ago. In fishing, as in agriculture, these three kinds -- or grades -- of activity have been maintained through the ages. And, marching through time, while perfecting its tools and skills and accumulating knowledge, each has been followed by a swarm of persistent ideas and opinions about it, some accurate, m a n y grossly mistaken, held by people who do n o t even go fishing. As a result, fishing has suffered, at times very considerably, from a hangover from the past. Fishermen occupied or were assigned to a low place in the social scale, and upon them and those who worked with them was imported the dislike for the smell of stinking fish and for the circumstances of their work. Hence, for example, the disdainful c o n t e m p t in much of the use of the term "fish-wife". The effect of these ideas and opinions was to set fisheries, the people engaged in them and the activity itself, apart from society; in some countries this separateness was enforced by strict social rules whereas in others it was maintained by economic measures. Not only was it assumed that all fishermen were illiterate, smelly and foul-mouthed, and unfit to enter polite society; it was also assumed that this state of affairs would continue always -- as the poor are always with us -- and that society had no obligations toward the industry, its operators or its resources. Not long ago, only about 100 years, an eminent English biologist could declare, with u t m o s t conviction, that the resources of the seas were inex-
0165-7836/81/0000--0000/$02.50 © 1981 Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company
haustible and could n o t be harmed by fishing. This, of course, we now know to be quite erroneous, and it is known to be so by a great m a n y people. Nor do we subscribe to the claim made in the nineteen-fifties -- also by a biologist, and one of international standing although of considerably lesser stature -- that fisheries were then at the last frontier that man must cross in his pursuit of food. Nevertheless, we have good grounds for believing that in the future the living aquatic resources will yield a great deal more food and other materials, than that which biologists currently estimate could be taken with today's equipment and methods employed with the most faithful observation of the most carefully formulated rules of rational fishing. But in the achievement of that result we shall have much more to do than to avoid a destruction of resources or to find ways of exploiting what some people call " n o n c o n v e n t i o n a l species". The potential of fish-culture, which has the ability n o t only to cultivate existing resources but also to create new resources, cannot be estimated, although there can be little doubt that it is very considerable. Still less can we estimate the potential that will be within our reach when new biotechnologies of direct intervention in free-living resources become available. In respect of these matters fisheries no longer stand apart but, instead, are deeply involved in some of the most important problems confronting our society today. Thus, the protection of natural resources is but one element of the general strategy of protection of our habitat so as to ensure the permanence of an environment suitable for h u m a n life. Similarly the rational and comprehensive use of natural resources, which is required by the general strategy with regard to our habitat and by the satisfaction of our physical appetites, implies the emergence of a new regime for the c o n d u c t of the affairs of society. In addition to reporting on technological and scientific advances, it is the purpose of this new journal to deal also with fisheries science in a much broader c o n t e x t as mentioned above. Its scope is international and interdisciplinary, and the articles to be included in it should be of direct interest and meaning to others besides those of the scientific fisheries community. The c o n t e n t of Fisheries Research will be varied, we hope, n o t only in terms of subject matter, but also in the type of article published. Original scientific papers, occasional review articles and 'Guest Editorials', items of news and announcements will all be included. Original contributions and reviews will all be subject to refereeing by members of the Editorial Advisory Board and should be prepared according to the 'Guide for Authors' of the journal which is included in this issue on pp. 77--81. It is hoped that Fisheries Research will soon become recognised as the international forum for papers contributing to a continued dialogue and debate on important matters of world fisheries. All those having a contribution to make are herewith warmly invited to participate.