North Atlantic Cod Commons: Overfishing and It's Solution
Robert ‘Ben’ Johnson
Engr. 183-EW
10/31/12
North Atlantic Cod Commons: Overfishing and it’s Solution
Over fishing has led to an almost complete wipe out of the mature cod population in the area of Northern Europe. With lack of regulations, the world could witness an entire species of fish destroyed due to rational behavior of man to want more. This is a classic example of a “commons” which Garrett Hardin discusses in his essay “The Tragedy of the Commons” (Hardin, 1968). The North Atlantic Cod is a natural resource that, although regulated minutely, is being overfished and exploited. Even though the fishing industry is an important industry that feeds many third world countries and provides income to most of those countries also, allowing the exploitation is unacceptable. Today’s society is not effectively reducing or efficiently stopping the damage that is being done to the populations and environment. In order to solve the problem of over fishing cod in the Northern Atlantic we must apply a combination of technical and ethical solutions. I would have the United Nations pass specific laws regulating major fish populations which could be an extension of the Third Committee: Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian or (SOCHUM) of the United Nations. I would also have specific incentives put up by SOCHUM to promote research into developing more widespread aquacultures and better fishing technology that better targets older species of fish. Garrett Hardin’s essay “The Tragedy of the Commons” is a paper on the logical outcome of rational self interest. Rational self interest is what any person weighing their options would do to gain the most benefit. An example from the text is given about herdsmen. A herdsman would first increase his herd, disregarding the effect the increase number would have on the field the herd grazed on, to increase his profit. Hardin demonstrates that eventually, with every herdsmen acting in this way, the field that is grazed on
Engr. 183-EW
10/31/12
North Atlantic Cod Commons: Overfishing and it’s Solution
Over fishing has led to an almost complete wipe out of the mature cod population in the area of Northern Europe. With lack of regulations, the world could witness an entire species of fish destroyed due to rational behavior of man to want more. This is a classic example of a “commons” which Garrett Hardin discusses in his essay “The Tragedy of the Commons” (Hardin, 1968). The North Atlantic Cod is a natural resource that, although regulated minutely, is being overfished and exploited. Even though the fishing industry is an important industry that feeds many third world countries and provides income to most of those countries also, allowing the exploitation is unacceptable. Today’s society is not effectively reducing or efficiently stopping the damage that is being done to the populations and environment. In order to solve the problem of over fishing cod in the Northern Atlantic we must apply a combination of technical and ethical solutions. I would have the United Nations pass specific laws regulating major fish populations which could be an extension of the Third Committee: Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian or (SOCHUM) of the United Nations. I would also have specific incentives put up by SOCHUM to promote research into developing more widespread aquacultures and better fishing technology that better targets older species of fish. Garrett Hardin’s essay “The Tragedy of the Commons” is a paper on the logical outcome of rational self interest. Rational self interest is what any person weighing their options would do to gain the most benefit. An example from the text is given about herdsmen. A herdsman would first increase his herd, disregarding the effect the increase number would have on the field the herd grazed on, to increase his profit. Hardin demonstrates that eventually, with every herdsmen acting in this way, the field that is grazed on
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