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Slipping through our hands. Population of the European Eel
Dekker, W.
Publication date
2004
Link to publication
Citation for published version (APA):
Dekker, W. (2004). Slipping through our hands. Population of the European Eel. Universiteit
van Amsterdam.
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Willemm Dekker [2004] Slipping through our hands - Population dynamics of the European eel
Acknowledgements s
Thee preparation of this thesis has lasted for twenty years inn the end, and brought me all around Europe. In widen-ingg the temporal and spatial constraints of research on eel, II have visited a wide area over a long time span, and broadenedd my own field of view. Over all those years and places,, I have met friendly people, who supported me, providedd the material I asked for, improved my foreign tongue,, suggested lines of thought, corrected me where I wentt astray, encouraged me when I lost hope, and most oftenn just helped me out and made me feel welcome. Althoughh this is my own thesis, in the end, I realise how muchh and how many people have contributed, in so many ways. .
Readingg my own publications, it strikes me that I for-gott to add a courteous acknowledgement to several man-uscripts;; courtesy and decorum are not my forte. Now thatt I have finally managed to get it all together, I will try too put that right. Can I list all, who provided support or help?? More and more names and occasions spring to mind;; older memories are now somewhat fainter, but oftenn as dear as new experiences; and nearby home was sometimess as exotic as the furthest outpost. While my list off names lengthens, completion seems to escape endless-ly.. Trained as a quantitative scientist, I recognise a skewed frequencyy distribution: an innumerable group of col-leagues,, fishermen and passers-by who helped me at somee occasion, enclosing a smaller circle of (national and international)) colleagues and friends, who contributed substantiallyy and recurrently, and knew the lines of thoughtt I developed. Rather than drawing a line between thosee to be named and those to be left out, where there is noo clear distinction in-between (and the risk of accidental-lyy forgetting someone), I choose to express my gratitude too all of you. Reading this thesis, you will recognise where youu were involved, and hopefully realise how much I owe too all the helping hands. Finally, in the tail of the distribu-tion,, the few odd cases that do not nicely fit in with the rest,, dominating the overall picture. Rather than treating themm as rare but accidental extreme outliers, I will name themm and identify their role.
Nielss Daan has been one of the few constant factors duringg the two decades of my work. Each time I returned too true science, fed up with privatisation foolishness and politicall intrigues, I found a listening ear and a helping hand.. Conscientious in your analyses, strict for yourself
a a
andd your companions, compassionate with fish and fish-ermen,, what better teacher could I have?
Havingg spent so many years before actually compiling thiss thesis, I was aiming for an academic promotion, but eventuallyy without an officially supervising promotor: Nielss Daan's professorship had ended years before. Maus Sabelis'' willingness to take over the official responsibility fromm Niels, at a point in time when most of the contents of thiss thesis were already outlined, is greatly appreciated. Hiss comments were not always easy, but have certainly improvedd the quality of my work.
Upss and Downs are part of life. One dark day I found out,, that my research job was my employment, but not my research.. Up 'til today, I am surprised by Adriaan Rijnsdorp'ss immediate recognition, that I was at a point of noo return, and by his swift and unconditional support. A couplee of years' research completed my thesis, saved my careerr as a scientist, and prevented a lifelong cynicism aboutt broken dreams. That day started as a nervous Downn and ended as a yet unconfident Up.
Duringg the first international meeting I visited follow-ingg my appointment as eel biologist 20 years ago, a math-ematiciann pitied me: 'eels are weird things'. For twenty years,, I have tried not to believe this, but to follow a rationall line of thought. The permanent discussions with Jann van Willigen, experienced technician as he is, were colouredd by an intense personal friendship, in which we couldd afford ourselves viewpoints often as opposing as theree are weird things and rational analyses. And weird theyy are!
Eell fishermen throughout Europe vary in culture and
character,character, but they share the traditional way of life, living amidstt their natural resources. Across the professional,
culturall and language barrier that separated me from them,, it has not always been easy to communicate, but I didd and do appreciate the friendly contacts. I enjoy the rurall life style, and the close association between fish and fisherr still puzzles my mind. Sipke Bootsma, fisherman in Hindeloopen,, has been the primus inter pares of the fisher-menn for me. Historical and current day eel fisheries alike, ourr discussions brought my abstract results alive.
Finally,, the people much closer to me than to my work.. My mother, Moei, always being there, and always supporting,, but in the end always leaving it up to me. Followingg my childhood's faithful strictness - confidence andd patience have been the main maternal contributions
Acknowledgements Acknowledgements
too this thesis; and at this day, still being there. And last but nott least, my children Rozemarijn and Fokke, and above alll my wife Nienke. As usual, a major commitment from thee home front is essential for writing one's thesis. In my case,, completion has lasted a long time; the many interest-ingg trips abroad must have been much less interesting whenn staying behind, at home. But home it always was andd is!
Thiss thesis has been supported financially by the Netherlandss Institute for Fisheries Research RIVO in IJmuidenn (Strategische Expertise Ontwikkeling, and a contri-butionn to the printing costs), and the Ministry of Agriculture,, Nature and Fisheries LNV in The Hague (a centuryy of routine research programmes related to legal
obligationss of the government, and a contribution to chap-terr 7, in 2002 and 2003). Invitations to participate in the 20011 International Eel Symposium in Tokyo (Japan), and thee 2003 International Eel Symposium in Quebec (Canada)) sparked off chapters 9 and 10, respectively. The Universityy of Amsterdam, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystemm Dynamics, took care of the layout of the thesis.
