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Dear Mike,
Just a quick reply
Strictly speaking i think you are right with your definition, so you
could consider it a scientific term (if it is well defined by the
fisheries people who use it)
On the other hand, being unfamiliar with the US legal system, i could
imagine that lawyers/managers/policymakers came up their own definition
of overfishing, which then doesn't have to be a scientific term....
Anyway I have serious doubts whether overfishing (as you roughly defined
it) could be used as an indicator of the health of a human activity (in
this case some type of fisheries) as there are other aspects that define
the 'health' of a sector besides the availability of resources
(economics such as profit for , social aspects (income, workplaces)).
Anyway ther is certainly an interaction (and often discussion) with the
social siences in the definition of 'health' applied to all kind of
activities, disciplines or systems (think of how managers often think of
ecosystem health)
Cheers
Bart De Wachter
Antwerp, Belgium
-----Oorspronkelijk bericht-----
Van: Scientific forum on fish and fisheries
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] Namens Mike Flaherty
Verzonden: donderdag 26 mei 2005 15:05
Aan: [log in to unmask]
Onderwerp: Is overfishing a scientific or legal term?
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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." ===============================
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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