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Biodiversity and the Future of Fisheries Science

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The Future of Fisheries Science in North America

Part of the book series: Fish & Fisheries Series ((FIFI,volume 31))

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The political and economic influence of environmental nongovernmental agencies has major implications for fisheries science in the future. For example, the conservation of biodiversity has been adopted as a global benchmark for successful fisheries management by the Marine Stewardship Council, among others. while agreeable in principle, demonstrating progress toward biodiversity conservation is a significant challenge facing young scientists in the near future. Here I present a personal view on the future of biodiversity in fisheries management that is informed by an extensive review of the ecological and fisheries literature. I show that there is no agreement on the definitions and measures that form the basis for conservation initiatives. However, in contrast to the broader ecological literature, fisheries science has a sophisticated theory of resource exploitation that can be extended to include biodiversity-type objectives in order to achieve successful management.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Resource and Environmental Management, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5A 1S6, Canada

    Ashleen J. Benson

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  1. Ashleen J. Benson
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Correspondence to Ashleen J. Benson .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Pacific Biological Station, Fisheries & Oceans Canada, 3190 Hammond Bay Road, Nanaimo B.C., V9T 6N7, Canada

    Richard J. Beamish

  2. School for Marine Science and Technology, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, 706 South Rodney French Boulevard, New Bedford, MA, 02744-1221, USA

    Brian J. Rothschild

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Benson, A.J. (2009). Biodiversity and the Future of Fisheries Science. In: Beamish, R.J., Rothschild, B.J. (eds) The Future of Fisheries Science in North America. Fish & Fisheries Series, vol 31. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9210-7_3

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