Study Overseas

Fishing is one of the oldest professions known to man. Since prehistoric times fish and other aquatic organisms such as marine mammals, shellfish etc, have played a most important role as food and as a source of materials for housing, clothing, tools and other technical purposes.

Over time fishing has progressed from an artisan occupation to one of significant commercial importance. Fish catches have increased enormously and estimates suggest that present day catches are in the region of 100 million tonnes. This increase can be attributed to a growing human population's demand for food as well as continuous technical improvements which have made capture, processing, distribution and sales more efficient.

It was once thought that living marine resources were inexhaustible however, as the industry continued to expand it became widely accepted that these resources were in fact finite and had to be managed accordingly.

The discipline of fishery science was first recognised more than a century ago as scientists became involved with improving our use of living aquatic resources, protecting waters in which these resources live and/or improving the practice of aquaculture.

Fisheries Science has grown and developed over the years and is now known to be a wide and diverse field. It is probably best known for its studies into the biological aspects of marine living resources, and the application of models designed to predict, for example, stock abundances and future catch rates. However, it is also involved with developing and improving fishing gears and operations with an aim to increasing the sustainability, efficiency and profitability of the fishery. It also investigates ways to improve technology and processing techniques in order to maximise the quality of fish landings and fish products.

Role of the Fisheries Scientist:

Generally, a fisheries scientists role is to add to and utilise scientific knowledge of a fishery in order to obtain optimum benefits to society whilst securing the long-term protection of the resource and the environment in which it lives. To do so requires a good understanding of the biology and ecology of the target species and a more general understanding of the ecosystem in which it lives and interacts. A broader understanding in disciplines of oceanography, gear technology, seafood science, economics, sociology and politics is also required.

There is a huge range of marine living resources from sea cucumbers to 16 whales. In addition there are many species yet to be discovered, particularly in the deepest waters. This along with the huge variation in size, status and vulnerability of fisheries of the world means that two "fisheries scientists" may have completely different roles. You only need to look at the staff list of fisheries research establishment to see such variation: parasitologists, gear technologists, bacteriologists, marine biologists, ecologists, oceanographers, immunologists, geneticists may all work under the general umbrella of fisheries science.

This role can also vary greatly depending on where in the world you are working and the sort of project you are involved in. You may be part of a 16 team working on a 16, multi-national project. For example you may be a member of the scientific committee formed by the convention on the conservation of Antarctic living marine resources with the general aim of conserving marine life in Antarctica whilst not excluding harvesting in the region. On the other hand you may be part of a small team focusing on a very specific topic using very sophisticated equipment. For example you may be studying stable isotopic composition of otoliths with the aim of identifying spawning grounds of one particular species of fish.

Fisheries graduates have a good record of finding work in their chosen fields relating to capture fisheries, culture fisheries, fisheries administration and management or research and can be anywhere in the world ranging from the poles to the tropics.

A career in this exciting, dynamic field is nothing if not a challenge.

How FS's role has developed

Initially fisheries scientists were interested in the fluctuations of abundance driven by fishing. Developments were then made in aging and tagging fish and by the early twentieth century Johan Hjort, a Norwegian scientist, had discovered the importance of survival rates of juvenile fish on future catches. This lead to fisheries scientists measuring the abundance of young fish in an attempt to predict catch rates of future years. The 1950s saw the introduction of mathematical models as a means of describing the dynamics of fish populations and their responses to various levels of fishing effort. Fisheries science was also becoming more focused on the ecological aspects of fish populations. More recently, with concerns about uncertainty of assessment methods, fish stock collapses, the environment and implications of management strategies on non-target species, fisheries science has become much more diverse and multi-disciplinary (Jennings et al, 2001).

It is now recognised, more than ever before, that to utilise living marine resources in a way that optimises benefits to society requires an understanding of a very complex set of interactions between the environment, target species, ecosystem, fishers, processors, managers, markets and politicians.