Shifting Baselines

Shifting Baselines explores the real-world implications of a groundbreaking idea: we must understand the oceans of the past to protect the oceans of the future. In 1995, acclaimed marine biologist Daniel Pauly coined the term "shifting baselines" to describe a phenomenon of lowered expectations, in which each generation regards a progressively poorer natural world as normal. This seminal volume expands on Pauly's work, showing how skewed visions of the past have led to disastrous marine policies and why historical perspective is critical to revitalize fisheries and ecosystems.

Contributions include case studies, recommendations for research methods and effective management, and inspiring stories that illustrate why degraded fisheries affect us all. Readers, from students to professionals, will benefit enormously from this informed hindsight.

Autorentext

Jeremy B. C. Jackson is Director of the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Karen Alexander is a historian who is currently Project Coordinator of the Gulf of Maine Cod Project. Enric Sala is National Geographic Society Fellow.

Inhalt

Introduction: The Importance of Shifting Baselines

Jeremy B. C. Jackson and Karen E. Alexander

PART I. THE PROBLEM DEFINED

Chapter 1. A Shoreline Remembrance

Carl Safina

Chapter 2. The "March of Folly" in Global Fisheries

U. Rashid Sumaila and Daniel Pauly

Chapter 3. If a Frond Falls in the Kelp Forest (does it make any sound?)

Randy Olson

PART II. ANCHOVIES AND SARDINES

Chapter 4. The Sardine-Anchovy Puzzle

Alec D. Maccall

Chapter 5. Variations in Fisheries and Complex Ocean Environments

David B. Field, Francisco Chavez, Carina B. Lange, and Paul E. Smith

PART III. COD

Chapter 6. The Historical Abundance of Cod on the Nova Scotian Shelf

W. Jeffrey Bolster, Karen E. Alexander, and William B. Leavenworth

Chapter 7. History and Context: Reflections from Newfoundland

Daniel Vickers, with Loren McClenachan

PART IV. METHODS IN HISTORICAL MARINE ECOLOGY

Chapter 8. Uncovering the Ocean's Past

Heike K. Lotze, Jon M. Erlandson, Marah J. Hardt, Richard D. Norris, Kaustuv Roy, Tim D. Smith, and Christine R. Whitcraft

Chapter 9. Whales, Logbooks, and DNA

Stephen R. Palumbi

PART V. FROM FISHERIES MANAGEMENT TO ECOSYSTEMS

Chapter 10. Management in the Gulf of Maine

Andrew A. Rosenberg, Karen E. Alexander, and Jamie M. Cournane

Chapter 11. Lessons from Coral Reefs

Enric Sala and Jeremy B. C. Jackson

Epilogue: Shifting Baselines for the Future

Jeremy B. C. Jackson and Karen E. Alexander

Notes

Contributors

Index