Ecological Fishing

In just a few decades, sea fishing has done a great deal of damage, emptying the sea of part of its resources and deeply disrupting the functioning of marine ecosystems. International bodies thus consider it as the primary cause of marine biodiversity loss.

It is however possible to do otherwise and reverse the trend to rebuild healthy, productive and resilient ecosystems. A new form of fishing has to be invented, which aims to reconcile biodiversity preservation and sustainable exploitation of marine living resources. This is the ambition of ecological fishing, a form of agroecology applied to the ocean. The book presents this new concept in its ecological, economic and social, as well as cultural, ethical and societal dimension, providing concrete answers for the establishment of truly sustainable fishing. 

In this essay, Didier Gascuel identifies the changes that need to be operated to break away from productivism and liberal thought. It offers practical solutions to minimize the impact of fishing on ecosystems and maximize the social usefulness of the goods provided by nature. The book also demonstrates the urgent need for major changes in the face of climate change induced disruptions, drawing the prospect of a new sustainability for a fishery at the service of human societies and coastal territories, placing man at the heart of Nature’s issues. 

This book is intended for all sea lovers concerned about marine life, actors of maritime fisheries management, as well as citizens who wish to reflect on the economic and social issues of ecological transition.