The Provident Sea describes the history of fish stock management (including whales and seals). The book traces, on the basis of the original scientific material, the history of the management of "the provident sea" up to recent times when problems of over-exploitation have had dramatic effects upon stocks. The need for management arose mainly from the increasing industrialization of capture. Hence the preindustrial fisheries are covered, in particular the old cod fishery on the Grand Bank and the herring fishery in the North Sea, as an essential background to current problems. The origins of...

The self-regulation of fish populations and why some fish stocks flourish and then die away are questions that have fascinated fisheries scientists for decades. In this account, David Cushing shows how the fate of fish larvae, which live close to the centers of production in the sea, has a crucial effect on population regulation. He shows how the timing and development of tidal fronts in particular regions have profound implications for fish and plankton production, which in turn affects whether or not enough of the fish larvae live to adulthood. One of the most interesting points made by the...