Challenges for Diadromous Fishes in a Dynamic Global Environment

Management and Governance of Diadromous Fishes: Sociological, Economic, Political, and Ecological Considerations Preamble

Ronald J. Klauda and Katherine L. Smith

doi: https://doi.org/10.47886/9781934874080.ch37

Considerable research has focused on the biology and ecology of diadromous fishes since the 1986 symposium held in Boston, Massachusetts, USA (Dadswell et al. 1987), and a fairly complete presentation of new knowledge appears in Sections 1 through 5 of this publication. As a result of such efforts, our understanding of the basic ecology and life history of diadromous fishes has improved. Additionally, we have gained an understanding of the multiple stressors such as high mortality (e.g., overharvesting, turbinerelated mortality, predation), as well as habitat degradation and loss (e.g., water pollution, channelization, dams and other barriers), affecting diadromous fishes in their freshwater and marine environments. Climatic changes and oceanic current shifts also pose an emerging threat to diadromous fishes, effects that are explored in Section 2.

Growing human populations and expanding global economies will only increase demands for energy, freshwater, and cheap protein, thus placing additional pressures on diadromous fish populations world-wide. Given the breadth of these threats, traditional single species management approaches are unlikely to adequately provide for sustainable diadromous fish populations. Since the 1986 symposium, interdisciplinary concepts such as adaptive management, place-based or watershed management, multispecies management, and ecosystembased management have gained increased attention for addressing complex natural resource management issues such as those facing diadromous fishes (e.g., Pikitch et al. 2004).

Based on this growing body of literature, it is generally recognized that successful strategies to address threats to diadromous fishes and their habitats will require contributions from resource economists, sociologists, anthropologists, fishers, indigenous peoples, political leaders, and the public. Learning each others’ vernaculars and potential contributions to resource management are critical steps in working together effectively in multidisciplinary teams to achieve sustainability. Recent publications have examined how a range of issues affect a particular species or region (e.g., Pacific salmon in Lackey et al. 2006). This section brings together examples of interdisciplinary efforts to improve management of diadromous fishes in various regions of the world.