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An article titled, "Scallops overfished for past 2 years, official says",
appeared on the front page of today's New Bedford Standard Times.

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/05-05/05-26-05/a01lo102.htm

There was one excerpt in it which gave me pause...

===============================
"Overfishing is a legal term, not a scientific term, and is therefore not an
accurate way to evaluate the health of the scallop fishery, Dr. Kenchington
said."
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As I roughly understand things, "overfishing" is defined as a point beyond
which harvest/mortality levels exceed sustainable levels in a fishery.  It
is further my understanding that the thresholds for sustainability are
arrived at scientifically.  If this is true, then isn't overfishing truly a
scientific term?  More importantly, is it a reasonably accurate way to
evaluate the health of a fishery?

Thanks,
Mike Flaherty
Wareham, MA

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