Ransom Myers, 54, Warned of Decline of Fish Stocks

Ransom Myers, who died Tuesday at 54, documented dramatic declines in the numbers of fish in the oceans. He was an outspoken critic of overfishing in the waters of the North Atlantic, where he did most of his research, and around the world.

In recent years, he helped direct attention toward the issue of fish extinction, a growing problem.

A professor of ocean studies at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada, Myers testified before the American Congress.

Myers was a native of Illinois and studied at Rice University and then Dalhousie, where he received his Ph.D. He was author of more than 100 scientific papers, many on the decline of Eastern Canada's stocks of cod, once the foundation of entire fishing fleets.

He also studied large predatory fish such as sharks and was often quoted in news sources as an authority on their conservation.

In a study published in 2003, Myers found that global industrial fishing had cut populations of large fish such as tuna, swordfish, and marlin to 10% of 1950 levels. He supported innovative government "buyback" programs to eliminate ocean-going fishing fleets.

Myers said the world was in "massive denial" and warned that authorities should concentrate on cutting catch limits instead of fighting over the few fish left.

In a 2007 study titled "Saving Endangered Whales at No Cost," he proposed that Maine lobstermen could shorten their season and decrease the number of their traps without reducing their catch. The reduced presence of fishermen would be of great benefit to the threatened right whale, he wrote, because entanglement in fishing gear is one of the species' biggest killers.

Fortune magazine once named him to a list of "Top 10 People to Watch" in the world. Pronouncing himself shocked, Myers said, "I mean, the founders of Google and me?"

In late January, Myers was diagnosed with a rare, inoperable form of brain cancer.