Fishery systems and linkages: from clockworks to soft watches

The complex systemic nature of fisheries has been recognized for many decades, but attempts to include this reality in day-to-day management have been slow, patchy, and. of limited effectiveness. The topic is reviewed again here, with a focus on new directions. After a brief introduction, an historical review is provided of the evolution of fisheries assessment and modelling highlighting the growing complexity resulting from changing societal demands. The complexity syndrome is described in terms of scope, boundaries, scales, components, and linkages, and is demonstrated as reducing understanding. predictability, and controllability, attributable to the effects of delays, teleconnections, scale dependence, and self-organizational capacity. Key issues relate to systemic aspects of fisheries governance and the research needed to support it. Special reference is made to the changes needed to adapt to the newly emerging relationships between science, policy-making, and society within complex fishery systems, and between those systems and their environment. A range of concepts and approaches, such as Integrated Assessment, are elaborated as epistemological and operational frameworks to support the transition process. The conclusion addresses the evolution of the global fishery system and briefly reviews the challenges faced by science, governance, and society.