Using science to change attitudes about biodiversity

Three years after publishing the fisheries study that shook the world, marine ecologist Boris Worm is excited about our deepening scientific knowledge of the world’s oceans. The conclusion of his 2006 study was dramatic: If we don’t start looking after the oceans, the world’s major commercial fisheries could collapse by 2048.

Today the 39-year-old Dalhousie University professor says humanity is finally starting to understand “how everything in the ocean works together. For example, we now use satellite transponders to follow individual tuna, sharks, or turtles on their ocean voyages in three dimensions. We understand much better where our activities interfere with the life cycle of these threatened animals and how we can better protect them.”

Worm says the “big picture emerging from all the puzzle pieces” is particularly important in Atlantic Canada, where we depend so much on the ocean. “We need to turn a corner and make restoration and recovery the cornerstone of our ocean science and also our policies,” he says. Worm and his colleagues and students conduct research with that end in mind. One of his recent publications focused on the effects of ocean warming on deepwater whales and dolphins. By learning how marine systems changes over time, we can manage world fisheries to prevent the loss of biodiversity and protect both species and the commercial fishery. “South of the border this is already happening; fish stocks and the economies that depend on them are being recovered,” he says. “It’s working in other places. It can work here too.”