Evolution of a Fisheries Scientist: From Population Dynamics to Ecosystem Integration

Fisheries science has a rich and proud history of studying the dynamics of important fish populations all around the world. Countless fisheries scientists have cut their career teeth on the quantification of the population processes that drive many of these commercially and recreationally important fisheries. The population models that are generated are used worldwide to manage these fisheries. Many times the approach has been successful, but when the underlying ecosystems that support these fisheries change, the population models become less accurate. Fisheries scientists have long recognized the importance of understanding and incorporating ecosystem changes into fisheries management, but the resulting science is still young. As fisheries scientists move through their career, the shortcomings of traditional approaches become painfully obvious. The transformation that comes from that recognition is necessary and common for fisheries scientists. This vignette will track the transformation of a freshly minted, population dynamicist to a grizzled, old habitat (read ecosystem) scientist who understands that traditional population approaches are not sufficient to conserve fisheries in a world that is enduring the extreme ecological stressors of climate change, land use change, and invasive species.