cshalizi + oceanography   2

All the Fish in the Sea: Maximum Sustainable Yield and the Failure of Fisheries Management, Finley
“The decline and collapse of world fisheries is repeatedly cited as exemplary of the ‘tragedy of the commons’—the dilemma whereby individuals, acting in their own rational, individual self-interest, destroy a common good. Using extensive primary sources, Carmel Finley shows that this view is incorrect, and that the decline of fisheries had little to do with the inadvertent adverse impacts of individual action, and everything to do with deliberate governmental and international policy. Since the end of World War II, the United States has consciously pursued a policy of encouraging more and more and more fishing, a policy that had little to do with the needs or interests of fishermen (much less fish) and everything to do with U.S. strategic and economic interests. Not surprisingly, fishermen and fish suffered the consequences. It was a tragedy, but not of the commons. It was a tragedy of attempted enclosure. This is a very important book, one that no environmentalist can afford to ignore.”—Naomi Oreskes, University of California, San Diego
books:noted  history_of_science  ecology  environmental_management  commons  to:NB  fish  oceanography 
october 2011 by cshalizi

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