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Fishing elevates variability in the abundance of exploited species

Author

Listed:
  • Chih-hao Hsieh

    (University of California, San Diego)

  • Christian S. Reiss

    (National Marine Fisheries Service)

  • John R. Hunter

    (University of California, San Diego)

  • John R. Beddington

    (Imperial College London)

  • Robert M. May

    (University of Oxford)

  • George Sugihara

    (University of California, San Diego)

Abstract

What fishing does to fish Fishing depletes fish stocks by removing fish from the sea. Clear enough, but in the late 1970s, theorists suggested that it also reduces the resilience of fish populations in the face of change. Discussion on the topic has remained theoretical until now: the availability of a 50-year larval fish survey of waters off California, begun when sardine populations there collapsed in the 1940s, provides the data. And it seems that fishing does magnify population variability (reducing resilience) in ways that extend beyond the removals themselves. A truncated age structure, with larger and older fish being removed first, is the likely cause. This suggests that to avoid collapse, fisheries must be managed not only to sustain total biomass, but also to maintain the age structure of a population.

Suggested Citation

  • Chih-hao Hsieh & Christian S. Reiss & John R. Hunter & John R. Beddington & Robert M. May & George Sugihara, 2006. "Fishing elevates variability in the abundance of exploited species," Nature, Nature, vol. 443(7113), pages 859-862, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:443:y:2006:i:7113:d:10.1038_nature05232
    DOI: 10.1038/nature05232
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Hugo C. Mendes & Alberto Murta & R. Vilela Mendes, 2015. "Long Range Dependence And The Dynamics Of Exploited Fish Populations," Advances in Complex Systems (ACS), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 18(07n08), pages 1-14, November.
    2. Andreas Sundelöf & Valerio Bartolino & Mats Ulmestrand & Massimiliano Cardinale, 2013. "Multi-Annual Fluctuations in Reconstructed Historical Time-Series of a European Lobster (Homarus gammarus) Population Disappear at Increased Exploitation Levels," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(4), pages 1-10, April.
    3. Frisman, E.Y. & Neverova, G.P. & Revutskaya, O.L., 2011. "Complex dynamics of the population with a simple age structure," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 222(12), pages 1943-1950.
    4. Bidegain, Gorka & Bárcena, Javier Francisco & García, Andrés & Juanes, José Antonio, 2013. "LARVAHS: Predicting clam larval dispersal and recruitment using habitat suitability-based particle tracking model," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 268(C), pages 78-92.
    5. Engen, Steinar, 2017. "Spatial synchrony and harvesting in fluctuating populations:Relaxing the small noise assumption," Theoretical Population Biology, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 18-26.
    6. Ricouard, Antoine & Lehuta, Sigrid & Mahévas, Stéphanie, 2023. "Are maximum yields sustainable? Effect of intra-annual time-scales on MSY, stability and resilience," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 479(C).
    7. Violaine Tarizzo & Eric Tromeur & Olivier Thébaud & Richard Little & Sarah Jennings & Luc Doyen, 2018. "Risk averse policies foster bio-economic sustainability in mixed fisheries," Cahiers du GREThA (2007-2019) 2018-07, Groupe de Recherche en Economie Théorique et Appliquée (GREThA).
    8. Laura S Storch & Sarah M Glaser & Hao Ye & Andrew A Rosenberg, 2017. "Stock assessment and end-to-end ecosystem models alter dynamics of fisheries data," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(2), pages 1-11, February.
    9. Worden, Lee & Botsford, Louis W. & Hastings, Alan & Holland, Matthew D., 2010. "Frequency responses of age-structured populations: Pacific salmon as an example," Theoretical Population Biology, Elsevier, vol. 78(4), pages 239-249.
    10. Alistair Hobday & Karen Evans, 2013. "Detecting climate impacts with oceanic fish and fisheries data," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 119(1), pages 49-62, July.
    11. John M Halley & Kyle S Van Houtan & Nate Mantua, 2018. "How survival curves affect populations’ vulnerability to climate change," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(9), pages 1-18, September.
    12. Simonetta Fraschetti & Giuseppe Guarnieri & Stanislao Bevilacqua & Antonio Terlizzi & Ferdinando Boero, 2013. "Protection Enhances Community and Habitat Stability: Evidence from a Mediterranean Marine Protected Area," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(12), pages 1-13, December.
    13. Nonaka, Etsuko & Kuparinen, Anna, 2023. "Limited effects of size-selective harvesting and harvesting-induced life-history changes on the temporal variability of biomass dynamics in complex food webs," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 476(C).
    14. Thanassekos, Stéphane & Scheld, Andrew M., 2020. "Simulating the effects of environmental and market variability on fishing industry structure," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    15. Keith Brander, 2013. "Climate and current anthropogenic impacts on fisheries," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 119(1), pages 9-21, July.
    16. Florian Diekert, 2012. "Growth Overfishing: The Race to Fish Extends to the Dimension of Size," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 52(4), pages 549-572, August.
    17. Nye, Janet A. & Gamble, Robert J. & Link, Jason S., 2013. "The relative impact of warming and removing top predators on the Northeast US large marine biotic community," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 264(C), pages 157-168.
    18. Wikström, Anders & Ripa, Jörgen & Jonzén, Niclas, 2012. "The role of harvesting in age-structured populations: Disentangling dynamic and age truncation effects," Theoretical Population Biology, Elsevier, vol. 82(4), pages 348-354.
    19. Sethi, Suresh Andrew & Reimer, Matthew & Knapp, Gunnar, 2014. "Alaskan fishing community revenues and the stabilizing role of fishing portfolios," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 134-141.

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