See also Callum Roberts, Ocean of Life (Penguin, 2012).

The fishing sector crisis is a kind of fractal microcosm of the climate change debacle. So many similar features abound, from the self-defeating nature of many industry actions and policy positions, to the inability of politicians to heed scientists’ warnings and to collaborate effectively to get transnational deals. And as in the climate case, there are many localised examples of excellent sustainable practice (eg fishing-free ocean zones for stock recovery) but no sign yet that these will be scaled up. A feature of the whole crisis is the tension between scientists and fishermen, with enormous distrust of scientific models and data and a reliance on fishermen’s experience of conditions at sea.

It’s worth still seeing The End of the Line movie, tendentious though it is in parts and over-emotive in its pitch. There is a great line to the effect that assessing the number of fish left is like counting trees, except that the trees are invisible and they move around.

The feedbacks are also fascinating and alarming. One example I use for students is the loop between bushmeat over-exploitation in West Africa and the expansion of EU fishing fleets. The latter have greatly damaged local fishing interests and put the price up of fish, so many people are unable to get enough protein from fish. They are then driven to use inland markets for meat protein, and in W Africa a lot of that is coming from wildlife, some of it very endangered.

best IAN Ian Christie I.Christie@surrey.ac.uk Home tel. +44(0) 208 540 9862 Work tel. : +44 (0)1483 689612

University of Surrey, Guildford, UK: – Research Fellow, Centre for Environmental Strategy – Coordinator, Sustainable Lifestyles Research Group

Associate, Green Alliance, London, UK; Fellow, WWF-UK

Other Affiliations: Alliance of Religions and Conservation; The Futures Company; Forum for the Future; Theos