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I agree with Peter that fisheries science involves many disciplines, but
what doesn't? To pick an example familiar to readers of this list, marine
geology involves just as many disciplines, many of them the same.

What concerns me is not that fisheries scientists need to learn so many
different things, but that so many of them do not. Looking at Peter's list
(below), how many fisheries scientists know very much about economics, and
can participate fully in management decision-making where economic and
social factors have to be taken into account? Unfortunately the advice we
give directly affects people who fall into the "soft science" basket.

As for ecology, there are many fisheries scientists, some of them very
senior, who persist in the belief that ecology has little to do with
fisheries. There was a rush of excitement among ecologists when the word
"multispecies" finally started to crop up in the fisheries literature, but
it seems to have led to multispecies VPA and not much more.

If members of the list want to pursue this topic, I suggest that it be split
into two issues, which I suspect will generate very different responses:

1. What IS fisheries science?

2. What SHOULD BE fisheries science?

Bill Silvert

----- Original Message -----
From: "Peter Hagen" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, October 09, 2002 8:23 PM
Subject: Re: Fishery Science. What is it?


> Instead, it seems to me like it is an amalgamation of
> disciplines in which common scientific principles can be applied.
> You mention both fisheries biology  and stock assessment.
> Pick and choose from limnology, oceanography, hydrology,
> marine biology,  freshwater ecology,  economics, aquaculture,
> statistics, population dynamics, genetics, physiology,
> evolutionary ecology, conservation biology, etc.,  etc.
> And then leave the door open for cultural anthropology,
> public policy and another other 'soft' sciences where used.

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