Harvest management - Ecological Applications: Toward a Sustainable World - page 210

recommendations would always be implemented. Political realities, refl ecting the
political persuasion of the government in power or the political 'clout' of powerful
lobbies, often intervene.
While an optimum economic yield (with its biggest dollar return per animal
taken) might be achieved using a technological advanced fi shing fl eet of large ships,
practical politics might nevertheless dictate that a large fl eet of small, individually
ineffi cient boats be maintained in an area where there are no alternative means of
employment. This stand would be more likely from a socialist government (or by
any government clinging tenuously to power and desperate for the support of the
local community concerned).
Then there is the frequently encountered situation where a strong commercial
lobby successfully argues that a catch reduction, indicated by ecologists on sustain-
ability grounds, should not be fully implemented. Such a position is not diffi cult to
argue, and is often won, because of the mathematical uncertainty of precisely what
reduction is needed. This was the state of affairs, for example, in the cod fi shery
described in Section 7.3.1.
Sometimes it is recreational rather than commercial fi shers that muster suffi cient
political clout - to block, for example, the plans of conservationists for marine pro-
tected areas in their locality. The fi shers' argument is likely to be that they should
not be asked to forego fi shing opportunities when the potential fi shery advantages
of a marine reserve have not actually been established, and when sustainability
could be attained by other means (perhaps by reducing the catch of commercial
fi shers).
But it is not always the exploiter lobby that gets the upper hand. Consider whale
hunting where, despite the possibility of managing a sustainable catch of certain of
the smaller species, countries such as Japan are vilifi ed globally by conservationists
and conservation-minded nations for wishing to hunt these large and intelligent
vertebrates. Commercial whaling would be more widespread now were it not for
restrictions imposed by the International Whaling Commission.
Thus it is that sociopolitical nuances often help to explain why action for sustain-
ability is slowed down, or accelerated, or doesn't take place at all. Thankfully, in
recent decades there has been a large-scale shift from the thoughtless push to exploit
without restraint, as more and more people recognize the risk of overexploitation
and the principles of sustainable harvesting.

Summary Sustainable harvesting

Sustainable harvesting involves managing the use of living resources, taking neither
too little nor too much, so that future generations can enjoy the same opportunities
as we do. The task is most diffi cult when the organisms are small and hidden from
view, with birth and death rates that respond sensitively to climatic fl uctuation, and
where multiple exploiters are involved. Avoiding the 'tragedy of the commons' is a
prime aim. When individuals use a public good, they do not necessarily bear the
entire cost of their actions - which may in the long term be borne by others. The
selfi sh strategy is for individuals to exploit more than their share, gaining in the
short term but leading inevitably to overexploitation and fewer resources for later
generations. The tragedy can be avoided if neighbors agree on appropriate rules
(lore) or if competing exploiters are regulated by government (law).