Some of what once were among New England's most plentiful fish -- cod, haddock and yellowtail flounder -- have declined over 70 percent in the last 15 years, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, and almost 60 percent of the fish populations monitored by the organization are at their maximum levels of exploitation or are depleted. This startling decline in fish populations -- and the impact continued depletion could have on the growing human population that depends upon such marine resources -- is one of the topics that will be addressed in a semester-long seminar series titled "Fisheries for the Future: Science, Conservation and Management for the New Century," which begins Tuesday, Sept. 10. The series is free and open to the public.
Led by experts from the National Audubon Society, the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Marine Mammal Commission, the seminar will focus on such topics as world-wide trends in the fishing industry, the impact of fisheries on marine mammals, habitat destruction, and marine conservation efforts under the Endangered Species Act.
The 12 lectures -- which are sponsored by the Yale Center for Coastal and Watershed Systems, the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and the Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies -- are scheduled on Tuesdays, 5-6 p.m. in Rm. 202 of Osborn Memorial Laboratories, 165 Prospect St.
Carl Safina, senior ecologist with the National Audubon Society since 1980, will launch the series with a talk on Sept. 10 titled "Status and Trends in World Fisheries." Mr. Safina, who grew up on Long Island and loved to fish, is the founding director of Audubon's "Living Oceans Program" for marine conservation and has conducted innovative field research on the relationships between seabirds and fish populations. He has authoared 85 scientific and popular publications on ecology and marine conservation and has a book scheduled for publication next year.
Speaking on Sept. 17 will be William Fox Jr., director of the Office of Science and Technology for the National Marine Fisheries Service NOAA under the U.S. Department of Commerce. His talk is titled "Fishery Research and Management." While teaching marine biology and fisheries at the University of Miami's Rosentiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science 1982-90, he also served on the State of Florida Marine Fisheries Commission as well as the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission.
The series is also being sponsored by the Program in Organismal Biology and Studies in the Environment, two Yale undergraduate programs that offer students interdisciplinary majors. Funding is provided by the Curtis & Edith Munson Foundation, The Henry Foundation, and the Coastal and Conservation Association.
Other speakers and their topics are:
For more information, contact the Program in Organismal Biology, 432-3780.