Author
Tony J. Pitcher
Other affiliations: Ulster University, Departamento de Oceanografia e Pescas
Bio: Tony J. Pitcher is an academic researcher from University of British Columbia. The author has contributed to research in topics: Fisheries management & Fishing. The author has an hindex of 63, co-authored 218 publications receiving 19274 citations. Previous affiliations of Tony J. Pitcher include Ulster University & Departamento de Oceanografia e Pescas.
Topics: Fisheries management, Fishing, Ecosystem, Seamount, EcoSim
Papers published on a yearly basis
Papers
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TL;DR: Zoning the oceans into unfished marine reserves and areas with limited levels of fishing effort would allow sustainable fisheries, based on resources embedded in functional, diverse ecosystems.
Abstract: Fisheries have rarely been 'sustainable'. Rather, fishing has induced serial depletions, long masked by improved technology, geographic expansion and exploitation of previously spurned species lower in the food web. With global catches declining since the late 1980s, continuation of present trends will lead to supply shortfall, for which aquaculture cannot be expected to compensate, and may well exacerbate. Reducing fishing capacity to appropriate levels will require strong reductions of subsidies. Zoning the oceans into unfished marine reserves and areas with limited levels of fishing effort would allow sustainable fisheries, based on resources embedded in functional, diverse ecosystems.
2,896 citations
01 Jan 1986
TL;DR: Predators and food are the keys to understanding fish shoals; synchronised co-operation defeats predators, and optimal food gathering in shoals reflects a shifting balance between joining, competing in, or leaving the group.
Abstract: Predators and food are the keys to understanding fish shoals; synchronised co-operation defeats predators, and optimal food gathering in shoals reflects a shifting balance between joining, competing in, or leaving the group In the wild, predators may arrive while shoaling fish are feeding, and so vigilance is a crucial behaviour Once detected, predator defence takes precedence over feeding, since an animal’s life is worth more than today’s dinner
1,200 citations
TL;DR: This paper provides the baseline against which successful action to curb illegal fishing can be judged, and can report a significant correlation between governance and the level of illegal fishing.
Abstract: Illegal and unreported fishing contributes to overexploitation of fish stocks and is a hindrance to the recovery of fish populations and ecosystems. This study is the first to undertake a world-wide analysis of illegal and unreported fishing. Reviewing the situation in 54 countries and on the high seas, we estimate that lower and upper estimates of the total value of current illegal and unreported fishing losses worldwide are between $10 bn and $23.5 bn annually, representing between 11 and 26 million tonnes. Our data are of sufficient resolution to detect regional differences in the level and trend of illegal fishing over the last 20 years, and we can report a significant correlation between governance and the level of illegal fishing. Developing countries are most at risk from illegal fishing, with total estimated catches in West Africa being 40% higher than reported catches. Such levels of exploitation severely hamper the sustainable management of marine ecosystems. Although there have been some successes in reducing the level of illegal fishing in some areas, these developments are relatively recent and follow growing international focus on the problem. This paper provides the baseline against which successful action to curb illegal fishing can be judged.
835 citations
Book•
31 Dec 1992
TL;DR: This book discusses fish behaviour and the management of freshwater fisheries, behavioural ecology of cave-dwelling fishes, and the role of sensory modalities in fish behaviour.
Abstract: Preface. Part One: Bases of behaviour. Genetic basis of fish behaviour - R G Danzman, M M Ferguson qand D L G Noakes Motivationalbasis of fish behaviour - P Colgan Development of behaviour in fishes - F A Huntingford Part Two: Sensory Modalities. Role of vision in fish behaviour - D M Guthrie and W R A Muntz Underwater sound and fish behaviour - A D Hawkins Role of olefaction in fish behaviour - J Hara Role of the lateral line in fish behaviour - H Bleckman Part Three: Behavioural ecology. Teleost foraging: facts and theories - P J B Hart Predation risk and feeding behaviour - M Milinski Teleost mating behaviour - G F Turner Williams' principle: an explanation of parental care in teleost fishes - R C Sargent and M R Gross Functions of shoaling behaviour - T J Pitcher Individual differences and alternative behaviour - A E Magurran Fish behaviour by day, night and twighlight - G S Helfman Intertidal teleosts: life in a fluctuating environment - N R Gibson Behavioural ecology of sticklebacks - G J FitzGerald and R J Wootton Behavioural ecology of cave-dwelling fishes - J Parzefall Part Four: Applied fish behaviour. Fish behaviour and fishing gear - C S Wardle Fish behaviour and the management of freshwater fisheries - K O'Hara. Indexes.
814 citations
TL;DR: It is shown that fitting is made easier by employing a subsample aged by biological methods for the preliminary starting values of parameters, and that the best fit may involve a trade-off between statistical precision and biological plausibility.
Abstract: For estimating age-group parameters from size-frequency data, conventional efficient statistical methods, such as maximum likelihood, can be more effective than the commonly used graphical methods ...
583 citations
Cited by
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TL;DR: Preface to the Princeton Landmarks in Biology Edition vii Preface xi Symbols used xiii 1.
Abstract: Preface to the Princeton Landmarks in Biology Edition vii Preface xi Symbols Used xiii 1. The Importance of Islands 3 2. Area and Number of Speicies 8 3. Further Explanations of the Area-Diversity Pattern 19 4. The Strategy of Colonization 68 5. Invasibility and the Variable Niche 94 6. Stepping Stones and Biotic Exchange 123 7. Evolutionary Changes Following Colonization 145 8. Prospect 181 Glossary 185 References 193 Index 201
14,171 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: For the next few weeks the course is going to be exploring a field that’s actually older than classical population genetics, although the approach it’ll be taking to it involves the use of population genetic machinery.
Abstract: So far in this course we have dealt entirely with the evolution of characters that are controlled by simple Mendelian inheritance at a single locus. There are notes on the course website about gametic disequilibrium and how allele frequencies change at two loci simultaneously, but we didn’t discuss them. In every example we’ve considered we’ve imagined that we could understand something about evolution by examining the evolution of a single gene. That’s the domain of classical population genetics. For the next few weeks we’re going to be exploring a field that’s actually older than classical population genetics, although the approach we’ll be taking to it involves the use of population genetic machinery. If you know a little about the history of evolutionary biology, you may know that after the rediscovery of Mendel’s work in 1900 there was a heated debate between the “biometricians” (e.g., Galton and Pearson) and the “Mendelians” (e.g., de Vries, Correns, Bateson, and Morgan). Biometricians asserted that the really important variation in evolution didn’t follow Mendelian rules. Height, weight, skin color, and similar traits seemed to
9,847 citations
TL;DR: A review of the ecological impacts of recent climate change exposes a coherent pattern of ecological change across systems, from polar terrestrial to tropical marine environments.
Abstract: There is now ample evidence of the ecological impacts of recent climate change, from polar terrestrial to tropical marine environments. The responses of both flora and fauna span an array of ecosystems and organizational hierarchies, from the species to the community levels. Despite continued uncertainty as to community and ecosystem trajectories under global change, our review exposes a coherent pattern of ecological change across systems. Although we are only at an early stage in the projected trends of global warming, ecological responses to recent climate change are already clearly visible.
9,369 citations
TL;DR: This work has shown that predation is a major selective force in the evolution of several morphological and behavioral characteristics of animals and the importance of predation during evolutionary time has been underestimated.
Abstract: Predation has long been implicated as a major selective force in the evolution of several morphological and behavioral characteristics of animals. The importance of predation during evolutionary ti...
7,461 citations
01 Aug 1987
TL;DR: In this article, an approach based on simulation as an alternative to scripting the paths of each bird individually is explored, with the simulated birds being the particles and the aggregate motion of the simulated flock is created by a distributed behavioral model much like that at work in a natural flock; the birds choose their own course.
Abstract: The aggregate motion of a flock of birds, a herd of land animals, or a school of fish is a beautiful and familiar part of the natural world. But this type of complex motion is rarely seen in computer animation. This paper explores an approach based on simulation as an alternative to scripting the paths of each bird individually. The simulated flock is an elaboration of a particle systems, with the simulated birds being the particles. The aggregate motion of the simulated flock is created by a distributed behavioral model much like that at work in a natural flock; the birds choose their own course. Each simulated bird is implemented as an independent actor that navigates according to its local perception of the dynamic environment, the laws of simulated physics that rule its motion, and a set of behaviors programmed into it by the "animator." The aggregate motion of the simulated flock is the result of the dense interaction of the relatively simple behaviors of the individual simulated birds.
7,365 citations