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Nature Environmental Conservation & Protection

Managed Annihilation

An Unnatural History of the Newfoundland Cod Collapse

by (author) Dean Bavington

Publisher
UBC Press
Initial publish date
Nov 2010
Category
Environmental Conservation & Protection, Agribusiness, Environmental Policy, Natural Resources, Oceans & Seas, Environmental Science, Fisheries & Aquaculture
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780774817486
    Publish Date
    Nov 2010
    List Price
    $34.95
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780774817479
    Publish Date
    May 2010
    List Price
    $37.95
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9780774817493
    Publish Date
    Jan 2011
    List Price
    $32.95

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Description

The Newfoundland and Labrador cod fishery was once the most successful commercial fishery in the world. When it collapsed in 1992, many pointed to failures in management, such as uncontrolled harvesting, as likely culprits. Managed Annihilation makes the case that the idea of natural resource management itself was the problem. The collapse occurred when the fisheries were state-managed and still, two decades later, there is no recovery in sight. Although the collapse raised doubts among policy-makers about their ability to understand and control nature, their ultimate goal of control through management has not wavered and has been transferred from wild fish to fishermen and farmed cod.

About the author

Dean Bavington is an Assistant Professor and Canada Research Chair in Environmental History at Nipissing University.

Dean Bavington's profile page

Awards

  • Winner, Clio Prize for Canadian History - Atlantic, Canadian Historical Association
  • Winner, Outstanding Jacket Design, 2011 AAUP Book, Jacket and Journal Show

Editorial Reviews

The sorry state of ocean life has led to a new kind of fish story—a lament not for the one that got away but for the countless others that didn’t…Dean Bavington…observes that two hundred billion pounds’ worth of cod were taken from Canada’s Grand Banks before 1992, when the cod simply ran out.

The Scales Fall, The New Yorker

This book ... is valuable to those seeking a fresh, provocative approach to the northern cod fishery in particular and to natural resource management in general. Summing Up: Highly recommended.

CHOICE, Vol. 48, No. 8

The sorry state of ocean life has led to a new kind of fish story – a lament not for the one that got away but for the countless others that didn't...Dean Bavington...observes that two hundred billion pounds worth of cod were taken from Canada's grand banks before 1992, when the cod simply ran out.

The New Yorker

Bavington’s critique of existing management approaches is strong, and opens the door to a worthwhile discussion.

International Journal of Martime History, Vol XXII, No 2

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