Harvest rates

[Michael Gochfeld]

I would be cautious about accepting statistics on fish harvest rates, 
because they may not take into account sustainability.  I grew up with 
what I call the "weekly reader" concept of resources. That is fish were 
a renewable resources, and pulp and timber companies replanted forests 
and sustained their yields indefinitely.  My experience both here and 
abroad is that the reality is different----harvest all the fish as 
quickly as possible and sell your boats to some other country so they 
can do the same.  Fishery folk may be more enamored of models than of 
reality, and when fish populations decline or the size of the fish 
declines, they are loathe to abandon the models and instead blame 
sampling. 

Mike Gochfeld