The world’s oceans provide an important source of nutrition for more than one billion people, and employment for hundreds of millions. But is this sustainable? And if so, where? And how? Over the last decade, a series of international collaborations have evaluated the impact of fishing around the world, and the results are contrary to popular perception: The abundance of fish in the oceans appears to be stable overall — not decreasing — and fish numbers are increasing in countries that are willing to reduce fishing pressure when necessary. This talk will explore why some fisheries are prospering and some are not, and will examine the environmental impact of harvesting food from the seas compared to other food sources. Ray Hilborn has been a professor in the University of Washington’s School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences for 30 years. Over his career, he has studied the global status of marine fisheries, the impact of bottom trawling on the sea floor, and the impact of harvesting “forage fish” on their predators. Professor Hilborn also coordinates teams of faculty and student researchers studying salmon at UW research posts in Bristol Bay, Alaska. Check out our Q&A with Ray Hilborn here: environment.uw.edu… This event is free and open to the public. No RSVP is required. |