Daniel Pauly, Author at Oceana

Ask Dr. Pauly: Are Science and Advocacy Compatible?

Daniel Pauly — Sat, 24 Aug 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Editor’s Note: World-renowned fisheries scientist and Oceana Board Member Dr. Daniel Pauly has contributed his scientific expertise to Oceana Magazine for over a decade. Across more than 30 issues, he has answered questions on wide-ranging subjects from illegal fishing to marine heatwaves. We have been honored to share Dr. Pauly’s insights and perspective with readers ... Read more

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Ask Dr. Pauly: What are marine heat waves?

Daniel Pauly — Thu, 14 Mar 2024 16:47:25 +0000

Marine heat waves are what you think: periods of temperature well above the level expected for the season that last for a while. If the temperature of the water along a coast is, for example, 3 – 5°C (about 5 – 9°F) above the temperature you expect, lasting for a week or two, then you ... Read more

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Ask Dr. Pauly: How does deep-sea mining affect marine life?

Daniel Pauly — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 19:30:11 +0000

Deep-sea fish can’t cough, which means they’re in danger Various companies are interested in mining metals in the deep sea, such as cobalt, nickel, and the like, to be used in the batteries of electric cars and other machines as we transition to renewable energy. Exploitable concentrations of these metals occur in the deep sea ... Read more

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Ask Dr. Pauly: Why are we giving subsidies to the fishing industry?

Daniel Pauly — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 10:40:00 +0000

Subsidies are government funds or other benefits, such as lower taxes, awarded to certain economic sectors or industries. Subsidies to fisheries are nothing new. From the 17th-19th centuries, the sail-driven navies of leading European powers — notably England, France, and the Netherlands — required huge numbers of experienced sailors for their all-too-frequent wars. The fishing ... Read more

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Ask Dr. Pauly: Why are plastics in the ocean so harmful?

Daniel Pauly — Wed, 12 Oct 2022 13:00:00 +0000

Dr. Daniel Pauly is the founder and principal investigator of the Sea Around Us project at the University of British Columbia’s Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, as well as an Oceana Board Member. Until the 1950s, the animals on Earth, including marine animals, primarily only had to deal with debris and trash in the ... Read more

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Ask Dr. Pauly: How is global warming affecting fisheries?

Daniel Pauly — Tue, 24 May 2022 12:00:00 +0000

The news about the impact of global warming on the oceans — or, more precisely, of ocean warming and deoxygenation — are gradually becoming more serious and wide-ranging, so much so that a brief review of the issues involved may be helpful. Here, contrary to my earlier columns, I will add a number of scientific ... Read more

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Ask Dr. Pauly: What is sustainability?

Daniel Pauly — Wed, 10 Nov 2021 05:51:00 +0000

Nowadays, everything is supposed to be or become “sustainable,” and sustainability is viewed as inherently good. Indeed, the term sustainable has become so widely used that it has gradually lost most of its original meaning. Sustainable means (or meant) that something can be maintained at a given level for a long time. Humans usually want ... Read more

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Ask Dr. Pauly: Why is the creation of marine protected areas such a contentious issue?

Daniel Pauly — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Writing to explain why we need marine protected areas (MPAs) is straightforward: Fishing or otherwise harming marine life will reduce marine life’s abundance. Hence, not fishing or otherwise harming marine life should have the opposite effect of enhancing it. So, what is the rub? Why is it necessary to repeatedly write that MPAs are needed ... Read more

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Ask Dr. Pauly: How do gillnets work?

Daniel Pauly — Tue, 08 Dec 2020 00:00:00 +0000

There are different ways to catch fish, and their differences are as useful to know as that between hunting rifles and AK47s. In principle, gillnets should be highly selective, i.e., catch fish of a particular species and size, and avoid undesired fish. Fish are caught in a gillnet that hangs down stiffly when they have ... Read more

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Ask Dr. Pauly: What is ecosystem-based fisheries management?

Daniel Pauly — Tue, 05 May 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Of all the questions this column has attempted to answer, the most difficult is “What is ecosystem-based fisheries management?” One reason for this is that ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) means different things to different people. Also, there is a debate – largely useless – between people who advocate for EBFM and even more ambitious folks ... Read more

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