INCOFISH Workpackage 2 (WP2)

INCOFISH WP2

Workpackage 2 (WP2) provides an historical dimension to the INCOFISH project. Its overarching aim is to examine the patterns of long-term change in selected coastal ecosystems and thereby establish targets for the restoration and sustainable use of living marine resources. This entails the accomplishment of three objectives:

1. the identification, validation and assembly of historical data (e.g. biomass, mean size, maturity, fecundity) relating to key aquatic resources in selected large marine ecosystems (LMEs);
2. the collation, analysis and dissemination of the historical data collected and processed in (1);
3. the establishment of baselines against which the current status of aquatic resources and LMEs can be evaluated and restoration goals can be set.

In essence, WP2 addresses the 'shifting baseline syndrome'. This problem has emerged as each generation of fisheries and environmental scientists has accepted existing stock size and species composition as the baseline against which temporal changes are measured. However, if stocks are progressively depleted, a shift in the baseline occurs over time. This results in an accommodation of the creeping disappearance of species, and the application of inappropriate reference points for the evaluation of economic losses due to overfishing, and the identification of targets for rehabilitation policies. To resolve this problem, criteria for selecting key aquatic resources (stocks) within particular large marine ecosystems will be developed. Historical data on catch and effort, biomasses, length-frequencies, maximum sizes, size and age at maturity, growth rates, natural mortality, etc. will be assessed, collated and analysed to establish baselines against which the current status and restoration goals of key aquatic resources can be measured.

WP2 Partners

Workpackage 2 comprises by eight partners, five in northern Europe and three in South America. A case study approach has been adopted, with each partner deploying historical data to investigate the abundance and health of selected species in particular spatial contexts over the long term, and to identify the natural and anthropogenic factors that have conditioned change over time. The partners are:

Code	Partner details	Location
CEFAS	Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science	Lowestoft, UK
CDF	Charles Darwin Foundation	Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
IMARPE	Instituto de Mar del Perú	Lima, Peru
MEI	Estonian Marine Institute, University of Tartu	Tallinn, Estonia
RUC	Roskilde University	Roskilde, Denmark
UHULL	MHSC, University of Hull	Hull, UK
UNAL	National University of Colombia	Santa Marta, Colombia
UNIABDN	University of Aberdeen	Aberdeen, UK

WP2 interacts with the other INCOFISH workpackages, notably WP1 (Data, Tools, Outreach), WP3 (Biodiversity Mapping), WP5 (Marine Protected Areas), WP6 (Coastal Transects), WP8 (Valuation of Ecosystem Services) and WP11 (Project Management).

WP2 also has strong synergies with other marine environmental history research programme, notably the History of Marine Animal Populations (HMAP), Sea Around Us and MarBEF projects. Click here to find links to these projects.

WP2 Results

The findings of the INCOFISH WP2 research effort are disseminated in the following forms:

• Research Datasets: the Shifting Baselines: INCOFISH WP2 Data Pages (this site) is an open access facility that currently holds approximately 15,000 records, a resource that is scheduled to increase to over 30,000 records by May 2008. The majority of these data are disseminated through the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS).
• Journal Articles and Chapters in Books: among the articles and chapters produced by the INCOFISH WP2 team are:

	John K Pinnegar, Trevor Hutton & Vicenzo Placenti, ‘What relative seafood prices can tell us about the status of stocks’, Fish and Fisheries, 2006, 7, 219-26.
	John K Pinnegar & Georg H Engelhard, ‘The “shifting baseline” phenomenon: a global perspective’, Reviews in Fish Biology & Fisheries, (online 2007, doi: 10.1007/s11160-007-9058-6)
	Camilo B. García, Luis O. Duarte, Jairo Altamar and Luis M. Manjarrés, ‘Demersal fish density in the upwelling ecosystem off Colombia, Caribbean Sea: Historic outlook’, Fisheries Research, 2007, 85(1-2), 68-73.
	Luis O. Duarte, ‘Status of Coastal Ecosystems in Colombia: Bottom-up vs. Top-down Pressures’, in Coastal Ecosystems: Hazards, Management and Rehabilitation (NAM S&T Centre, in press).
	Poulsen, R., Cooper, A., Holm, P. ‘The importance of historical baselines to fisheries management - an abundance estimate of ling (Molvamolva) and cod (Gadus morhua) the northeastern North Sea, 1872’ Fisheries Research, 87 (2-3), Nov 2007.
	Poulsen, B., Holm, P. ‘A fishery of historical magnitude. Reconstructing the 17th-19th centuries catches of herring, eel, whitefish and plaice in Limfjorden, Denmark’ Fisheries Research, 87 (2-3), Nov 2007.
	Bager, M., Søndergaard, M. K.  ‘The Danish Baltic Sea fisheries c. 1875-1911’ Fisheries Research, 87 (2-3), Nov 2007.
	MacKenzie, B. R., Myers, R. A. ‘The development of the northern European fishery for north Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) during 1900-1950’ Fisheries Research, 87 (2-3), Nov 2007.
	Eero, M., MacKenzie, B. R., Karlsdottir, H. ‘Dynamics of international fisheries for cod (Gadus Gaumiga, R.morhua) in the eastern Baltic Sea during 1880-1938’ Fisheries Research, 87 (2-3), Nov 2007.
	Enghoff, I. B., MacKenzie, B. R. Nielsen, E. E. ‘The Danish fish fauna during the warm Atlantic period (ca. 7000 - 3900 BC): forerunner of future changes?’ Fisheries Research, 87 (2-3), Nov 2007.
	Lotze, H. ‘Rise and fall of fishing and marine resource use in the Wadden Sea, southern North Sea’ Fisheries Research, 87 (2-3), Nov 2007.
	Gaumiga, R., Karlsons, G., Uzars, D. ‘Gulf of Riga (Baltic Sea) fisheries in the late 17th century’ Fisheries Research, 87 (2-3), Nov 2007.
	Ojaveer, H. Lajus, J., Tammiksaar, E. ‘Fishing in the NE Baltic during the 19th century: what can be learned from the archives of Karl Ernst von Baer?’ Fisheries Research, 87 (2-3), Nov 2007.
	Lajus, J., Kraikovski, A., Lajus, D. ‘Coastal fisheries in the Gulf of Finland basin in the 15-20th centuries on the base of Russian historical sources’ Fisheries Research, 87 (2-3), Nov 2007.
	Ojaveer, H., Awebro, K., Karlsdottir, H. MacKenzie, B. ‘Swedish Baltic Sea fisheries during c. 1870-1913: spatio-temporal dynamics of catch and fishing effort’ Fisheries Research, 87 (2-3), Nov 2007.