International Symposia in Fisheries Ecology		Eminent Scholars
	Undergraduate Summer Internships		Visiting Scholars

Bob Johannes--a marine ecologist with profound patience, insight, and understanding--recognized the critical role of traditional knowledge in fisheries management and ocean conservation long before anyone else, and paid a price for being too far ahead of the curve. He pioneered an integrated approach to solving ecological, economic, and societal problems inherent in the quest for sustainable fisheries by combining traditional knowledge with Western-based scientific practices. In so doing, he gained the respect of indigenous people throughout the world, and demonstrated to the rest of us the importance of listening to and learning from what fishers have to teach us. His seminal work in this area, "Words of the Lagoon," published in 1981 with support of a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship is considered a classic. No more a classic than Bob himself.

Bob Johannes (b. 1936 d. 2002). Float on, Bob

"The Collected Works of R.E. Johannes: Publications on Marine Traditional Knowledge and Management”, arranged and introduced by Kenneth Ruddle, is available at The International Resource Management Institute website:

Photos courtesy of the Pew Fellows Program in Marine Conservation