The Laurentian Great Lakes experience: a prognosis for the fisheries of Atlantic Canada

Abstract

The fish production systems of Atlantic Canada are in a state of crisis, in the social, political, economic, and biological senses. We doubt that the true scope and provenance of the crisis have yet been apprehended by the responsible managers. Our view is that the obvious overfishing that precipitated the problem is but the first major instance of further devastation that will visit the fishery. We find numerous parallel behaviours among the various Atlantic fisheries and the patterns of demise of the fish production systems of the Great Lakes basin ecosystem. Unless management regimes awaken to these realities, the fisheries of Atlantic Canada are doomed to the same dismal scenarios as were witnessed in the Great Lakes. Properly understood, remedial measures painfully learned in the Great Lakes could usefully inform responsible management agencies in Atlantic Canada. A new institutional structure is required in Atlantic Canada to deal with the requirements of ecosystem management.