Cultivating Capture Fisheries
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Introduction
Values in Fishery Management
Ecosystem-based Fishery Management
Agricultural Metaphors in Fishery Management
Ecological Reciprocity
Conclusion
Court Smith, Anth, F&W, Env Sci, MRM
Agriculture has
increased human
• Material well-being
• Population
• Longevity
• Body size
It has also
dramatically changed
Ecosystems and
Ecosystem services
“Hey! Since when did you stop being nomadic?”
Production in Single-Species Fisheries Management
Efficiency, Stability, and Control
Add fish
+
Subtract predators
-
Regulate harvest
+
Maximize abundance & stability
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Adapted from Bottom (2007)
Anthropocentrism in fishery management
The anthropocentrism in fishery management is widely
noted. Lackey (1978:417) observes, “A fundamental
premise in all fisheries management is that all benefits
derivable from fisheries management are accruable
solely to man.” And, twenty years later, “The basic idea
behind a management paradigm is anthropocentric; it is
to maximize benefits by applying a mix of decisions
within defined constraints” (Lackey 1998:23). Schaefer
(1957:670) said, “… there arises the important question
of how the amount of fishing should be managed in order
to provide the greatest benefits to mankind.”
Source: NOAA Fisheries
Language Map
showing the
variety of cultures
in the Pacific
Northwest.
Look particularly
at the diversity of
coastal cultures.
Note: Chief Joseph Dam blocks salmon from the upper Columbia and its tributaries.
Lackey quote illustration
(Hilary Stewart 1977)
Data
Selection
7500 B.P.-contact
2 sub-regions:
South-Central NWC
Northern
Columbia Plateau
(Courtesy of
Butler & Campbell)
Faunal Samples
South-Central
Northwest Coast
Northern
Columbia Plateau
• 19 sites: 42 components
33 sites: 82 components
• 163,000 identified fish
specimens
• 5000 identified fish
specimens
• 56,000 mammal
• 15,000 mammal
• Sites assigned to broad
habitat class (coastal,
riverine) to assess
importance of local
resource availability
(Courtesy of
Butler & Campbell)
Summary
• Native peoples
sustainably harvested
salmon (in increasing
amounts) for 1000s of
years
• Limited population,
prey switching, and
social institutions
partially explain
• Extent these results
from social institutions
or other behaviors
needs to be modeled
and measured
(Adapted from Butler & Campbell, 2007)
Pacific salmon and indigenous people have
cohabitated the same watersheds for millennia
Moss and Erlandson. J. of World
Prehistory, Vol. 9, No. 1, 1995
(Courtesy of Frank Lake)
Good for Salmon
Optimum
Poor
• Changing climate
and rising sea
levels affected
environmental
conditions which
directly impacted
Indigenous people
and salmon
populations.
How did indigenous people learn to live with salmon?
• Natural variability, observations, and adaptive management
• Adoption of ecological and management knowledge from prior groups.
Lake (2007:87)
Two Contrasting Perspectives
Ecological
Indian
George Catlin
Oil Painting,
1837-1839
Implications of being in an ecosystem
Very little, if any of this biomass, is truly “surplus”
to an ecosystem; before the advent of fisheries,
it was recycled within the ecosystem.
Consequently, our societal decision to harvest
fish, induces ecological changes among
competitors, prey and predators as the system
responds to fishing and the trophically-induced
changes in ecosystems. These changes affect
future levels of surplus production of the
harvested population, including the possibility
that there may be none.
EPAP (1999:9-10)
Human terrestrial footprint on Earth
(Science 2007[316]:1867)
Planting salmon wherever possible
The Agricultural Domestication Paradigm
• Natural systems should be
relatively constant and stable
• Salmon populations should
be controlled for maximum
efficiency and production
• Technology can substitute for
ecological processes
Adapted from Dan Bottom (2007)
Reciprocity in salmon ecosystems
Reciprocity, the ceaseless give and take, the flow moves
in two directions−this is the real teaching of the salmon.
… Most specifically, never take more from the living land
than you need, and, indeed, never take more from the
living land than you return to the land−not only with
nourishing offerings and propitiations, but also with
prayers and praises−gifting the breathing earth with you
eloquence, honoring the sensuous and sentient
surroundings with the heartfelt gratitude of your songs
and your dances, feeding the more-than-human world
with your grateful attention.
Abram (2004:81)
Balanced
Generalized
Ecocentric
Altruistic
Personal
Long-term
Negative
Anthropocentric
Self-interested
Impersonal
Quick to profit
Change in Ecological Reciprocity
1880 Camp Nine incline (Benson 1971:74)
Sepia
Color
Paul Kane view of the Willamette Valley reflecting the
impacts of Indian burning, circa 1847.
Angling at
Willamette Falls
(Oregon Historical
Society Photo)
Brailing the Trap
(Washington State
Historical Society Photo)
Long
Tom
Watershed
Projects
Balanced
Generalized
Ecocentric
Altruistic
Personal
Long-term
Negative
Anthropocentric
Self-interested
Impersonal
Quick to profit
Change in Ecological Reciprocity
Note the driving
forces of biospheric
and humanistic
altruism in creating
proenvironmental
behaviors. Selfinterest has a
negative effect.
NEP=New Ecological
Paradigm
AC=adverse
consequences
AR=ascription of
personal
responsibility
Dietz et al. 2005:357
Conclusions
• ESM puts humans inside of ecosystems
– less hubris? more adaptiveness?
– every member has a systems impact
• ESM raises values issues
– consider ecological reciprocity?
• The past is a guide, but not a road map
– less focus on stability, more on adaptation?
• Ecosystems and ESM are very complex
– more disciplinary integration?
– better observations and measures?
Acknowledgments
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AFS Socioeconomic Section & Sea Grant Extension
California & Alaska Sea Grant Extension Programs
Northeast Consortium
Oregon Sea Grant & Pathways to Resilience Conference
Dan Bottom
Virginia Butler
Carmel Finley
Phil Greenfeld
Court Smith, Department of Anthropology
238 Waldo Hall
Frank Lake
Corvallis, OR 97331
http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/anth/smith/
csmith@oregonstate.edu
541.737.3858