Tensions in the communication of science advice on fish and fisheries: Northern cod, species at risk, sustainable seafood
Providing science-based advice can be challenging. Personal in its reflections, the story that follows asks throughout: What constitutes an appropriate model for the communication of science-based advice that best serves society? The first “front line,” in 1992, involved tenuous hypotheses on the co...
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ftimr:oai:imr.brage.unit.no:11250/2999584 2023-05-15T16:19:16+02:00 Tensions in the communication of science advice on fish and fisheries: Northern cod, species at risk, sustainable seafood Hutchings, Jeffrey 2022 application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2999584 https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsab271 eng eng ICES Journal of Marine Science. 2022, 79 (2), 308-318. urn:issn:1054-3139 https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2999584 https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsab271 cristin:2018880 308-318 79 ICES Journal of Marine Science 2 Peer reviewed Journal article 2022 ftimr https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsab271 2022-06-22T22:40:31Z Providing science-based advice can be challenging. Personal in its reflections, the story that follows asks throughout: What constitutes an appropriate model for the communication of science-based advice that best serves society? The first “front line,” in 1992, involved tenuous hypotheses on the collapse and recovery of Newfoundland's Northern cod (Gadus morhua), raising troubling questions about political influence on science-based advice and on its integrity. These questions subsequently motivated a critique written with two colleagues on the communication of science to decision-makers, provoking a telling invective from a government department in defence of the status quo. The story transitions to my 2000–2012 tenure as a member and then as chair of Canada's national body advising which species should be on the legally binding national at-risk register, illustrating how politically sensitive science-based advice can be objectively, effectively, and independently communicated, unfiltered by vested interests. Since 2009, I have served as independent science advisor on the sourcing of sustainable seafood to Canada's largest food retailer, providing a meaningful, impactful opportunity to advise their decision-makers. Science-based advice, free from political and advocacy-driven vested interests, is a requisite return for tax-supported investments in science. If provision of such advice is a “moral imperative,” as argued more than 60 years ago by C.P. Snow, then scientists are obliged to be the best advisors that we can be. publishedVersion Article in Journal/Newspaper Gadus morhua Institute for Marine Research: Brage IMR ICES Journal of Marine Science 79 2 308 318 |
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Providing science-based advice can be challenging. Personal in its reflections, the story that follows asks throughout: What constitutes an appropriate model for the communication of science-based advice that best serves society? The first “front line,” in 1992, involved tenuous hypotheses on the collapse and recovery of Newfoundland's Northern cod (Gadus morhua), raising troubling questions about political influence on science-based advice and on its integrity. These questions subsequently motivated a critique written with two colleagues on the communication of science to decision-makers, provoking a telling invective from a government department in defence of the status quo. The story transitions to my 2000–2012 tenure as a member and then as chair of Canada's national body advising which species should be on the legally binding national at-risk register, illustrating how politically sensitive science-based advice can be objectively, effectively, and independently communicated, unfiltered by vested interests. Since 2009, I have served as independent science advisor on the sourcing of sustainable seafood to Canada's largest food retailer, providing a meaningful, impactful opportunity to advise their decision-makers. Science-based advice, free from political and advocacy-driven vested interests, is a requisite return for tax-supported investments in science. If provision of such advice is a “moral imperative,” as argued more than 60 years ago by C.P. Snow, then scientists are obliged to be the best advisors that we can be. publishedVersion |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Hutchings, Jeffrey |
spellingShingle |
Hutchings, Jeffrey Tensions in the communication of science advice on fish and fisheries: Northern cod, species at risk, sustainable seafood |
author_facet |
Hutchings, Jeffrey |
author_sort |
Hutchings, Jeffrey |
title |
Tensions in the communication of science advice on fish and fisheries: Northern cod, species at risk, sustainable seafood |
title_short |
Tensions in the communication of science advice on fish and fisheries: Northern cod, species at risk, sustainable seafood |
title_full |
Tensions in the communication of science advice on fish and fisheries: Northern cod, species at risk, sustainable seafood |
title_fullStr |
Tensions in the communication of science advice on fish and fisheries: Northern cod, species at risk, sustainable seafood |
title_full_unstemmed |
Tensions in the communication of science advice on fish and fisheries: Northern cod, species at risk, sustainable seafood |
title_sort |
tensions in the communication of science advice on fish and fisheries: northern cod, species at risk, sustainable seafood |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2999584 https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsab271 |
genre |
Gadus morhua |
genre_facet |
Gadus morhua |
op_source |
308-318 79 ICES Journal of Marine Science 2 |
op_relation |
ICES Journal of Marine Science. 2022, 79 (2), 308-318. urn:issn:1054-3139 https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2999584 https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsab271 cristin:2018880 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsab271 |
container_title |
ICES Journal of Marine Science |
container_volume |
79 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
308 |
op_container_end_page |
318 |
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1766005630525505536 |