| dc.description.abstract | The collapse of major fish stocks around the world, their failure to recover even after the cessation of fishing, and the perceived deficiencies in single species fisheries management has resulted in an intensified interest in the study of whole systems. Assessment of ecosystems is a relatively new phenomenon and represents a significant departure from the past focus on individual ecosystem components such as individual, commerciallyexploited stocks of fish and invertebrates in isolation from their physical, chemical and biological environment. A report entitled “State of the Eastern Scotian Shelf Ecosystem” was completed recently and some of its main findings form the body of this paper. The analysis focused on more than 60 data series, most extending back to at least 1970, associated with three categories of variables: biotic, abiotic and human. Biotic variables included the abundance, distribution and composition of finfish and invertebrates, phyto- and zooplankton, and marine mammals. Abiotic variables included oceanic and atmospheric data that specify ocean climate conditions. Human variables ranged from fisheries landings and revenue, activities associated with oil and gas development and contaminants. By examining temporal variations in the data, an assessment was made of the current status of the ecosystem relative to its past state. | en_US |
