The Promise of an Ecosystem Approach: Lessons from the Past - Hopes for the Future

There are few fisheries scientists today who have known the state of the fishery - be it local, national or global - to be other than in a state of crisis of one from or another. Of course we tend to live and observe such matters through the lens and context of our own times. Yet in the scheme of things we art, really the new kids on the block. After all, the west coast fishery dates back over a century and the east coast half a millennium.(1) Undoubtedly the first observations about the state of the oceans and the health of the fish were made by the fishermen themselves, and later through the work of the first scientists. As the AIFRB celebrates its first half-century we would be remiss if we didn't at least acknowledge our collective history and consider how it might inform our future. This paper reflects the Canadian experience.