Politically-relevant Fisheries Science: Reflections on the Work of Henry Regier

Session: 12. - History of Great Lakes Fish, Fisheries & Governance: Dr. Henry Regier's Legacy

Barbara Knuth, Cornell University, [email protected]

Abstract

A 2003 Henry Regier article in The Toledo Journal of Great Lakes’ Law, Science & Policy on Anishinabek fisheries in the Great Lakes Basin begins with a caution to its readers:  those “who have a need to preserve deniability of thinking politically-relevant thoughts should stop here.”  Just this one example encapsulates the scope and impact of Dr. Regier’s lifetime work, spanning local, regional, and global scales, bridging law and science, addressing multicultural concerns, rising above the politics of the time, and always challenging his readers, students, and colleagues to do and think better.  This paper reviews a sample of his work over time to demonstrate the importance of pursuing politically-relevant fisheries science  with (in his words) “flexible eclectic pragmatism” and the impact his pursuit has had in the Great Lakes Basin.

1. Keyword
Great Lakes basin

2. Keyword
fisheries

3. Keyword
ecosystem health