5 Easy Pieces

Initially published over an eight-year period in Nature andScience, from 1995 to 2003, these five articles illustrate atransition in scientific thought—from the initially-contestedrealization that the crisis of fisheries and their underlying oceanecosystems was, in fact, global to its broad acceptance by mainstreamscientific and public opinion.

Daniel Pauly, a well-known fisheries expert who was a co-author ofall five articles, presents each original article here and surrounds itwith a rich array of contemporary comments, many of which led Pauly andhis colleagues to further study. In addition, Pauly documents howpopular media reported on the articles and their findings. By doing so,he demonstrates how science evolves. In one chapter, for example, thepopular media pick up a contribution and use Pauly’s conclusionsto contextualize current political disputes; in another, what might beseen as nitpicking by fellow scientists leads Pauly and his colleaguesto strengthen their case that commercial fishing is endangering theglobal marine ecosystem. This structure also allows readers to see howscientists’ interactions with the popular media can shape thereception of their own, sometimes controversial, scientificstudies.

In an epilog, Pauly reflects on the ways that scientific consensusemerges from discussions both within and outside the scientificcommunity.