A South Africa-based professor has received a prestigious award from the Emperor of Japan for helping ensure the sustainable use of marine living resources by Japan, in particular southern bluefin tuna.
University of Cape Town (UCT) applied mathematician and fisheries scientist Professor Emeritus Doug Butterworth was presented with the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon by Emperor Naruhito.
“I am very honoured to be recognised in such company and pay tribute to the colleagues who have assisted with my work,” said Mr Butterworth, who works closely with the South African Deep-Sea Trawling Industry Association (SADSTIA) to ensure the management of the hake deep-sea trawl fishery is underpinned by robust scientific advice.
Sustainable management
Mr Butterworth has been responsible for developing the scientific methods underlying the management of nearly all South Africa’s major fisheries. He has made major contributions internationally to the analysis and management of bluefin tuna and various whale populations, as well as Antarctic krill and fisheries in Canada and the United States.
In the two decades that Mr Butterworth has served on Japan’s delegation to the Scientific Committee of the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna, he has played a leading role in developing a management approach that saw the highly threatened resource under international litigation move to a situation where it is well on the route to recovery.
Mr Butterworth is recognised as a primary developer of the “management procedure” approach to fisheries management, which allows the precautionary principle – which aims to minimise risks and protect fish stocks in the face on incomplete knowledge – to be incorporated into management decisions.
