Reviews for Protecting the Oceans Beyond National Jurisdiction: Strengthening the International Law Framework

The average rating for Protecting the Oceans Beyond National Jurisdiction: Strengthening the International Law Framework based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-01-29 00:00:00 Joyce Petrillo This is an extended review of this important book on the history of the California fisheries. In an unregulated economic competition, no rules exist to police the usage of shared resources. In this situation, individuals have no incentive to conserve resources because by doing so they are simply allowing their competitors to use those resources first and profit at their own expense. This situation, known as "The Fisherman's Problem" (or more generally as "The Tragedy of the Commons"), is the simple, standard explanation for problems in fishing industries everywhere. Without proper regulation, overfishing depletes fish stocks until the fish are gone and the fishermen move to someplace else where the process can repeat itself. The depletion of fishing stocks is certainly a problem in California's waters. However, as Arthur McEvoy demonstrates in his book The Fisherman's Problem, this alone is insufficient to explain everything that has happened in the California fisheries over the 140 years of his study. Combining an environmental approach with a close look at the politics and economics of fishing in California, McEvoy describes a complex process that defies the simple explanation known as "The Fisherman's Problem." McEvoy sets the stage by describing the environmental conditions in the California fishery. All along the California coast a 350-mile wide stream of water known as the California Current flows north to south and in it, winds and currents interact to produce an upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water that fuels the food chain of which fish are a part. The river systems of California, the Sacramento-San Joaquin especially, are another source of habitat for California fish historically. From there, McEvoy describes how humans interact with and affect this environment. Fishing is one way, of course, but any human activity using water, including mining, agriculture, urban development, and timber cutting affect the system as well. This is not the end for the role of the environment, however. Unlike many books that use an environmental description only to set the stage for future events, The Fisherman's Problem portrays the environment as a continuing player in the health of the California fisheries, as weather and climatic events such as El Nino appear again and again to help explain the complex fluctuations in the output of California's fisheries. The original people to interact with the environment in California were, of course, the American Indians who had lived there for many generations. After spending a chapter describing Indian strategies for harvesting fish the story proceeds to relate how their densely settled populations along watercourses made them especially vulnerable to epidemic diseases that swept away thousands with each reoccurrence. In the end, the Indians lost control of the fisheries and rivers became part of the American industrial system centered on logging and mining, dealing a harsh blow to the river habitat of California salmon. Another interesting and important part of the story is that of the various immigrant communities that fished in California's waters. Especially by the late 1800s, different groups had virtually cornered the market in certain sectors of the fishery, with the Chinese harvesting abalone at San Diego, for example. In fact, the 1880 census identified 3,000 fishers in California, of whom 92% were foreign-born. These immigrants, primarily sticking with traditional methods of harvest, did not put maximum pressure on the fishery because the fishing industry as a whole adopted technological improvements only slowly before 1910, with the important exception of salmon canning operations. This situation could not, and did not, last forever. Fishing pressure increased throughout the twentieth century as gasoline motors on boats and other technological improvements allowed greater harvesting of fish. Buttressed by the dual ideologies of laissez faire capitalism and the vast oceans as an inexhaustible source of fish, exploitation of California's aquatic resources commenced in earnest in the twentieth century. The sardine fishery best exemplifies the logical conclusion of these two ideologies. During the peak fishing season of 1936-7, California fishers pulled in 726,124 tons. By the 1953-4 season, less than twenty years later, the catch bottomed out at 4,492 tons, or about one-half of one percent of the peak total. Unfortunately, fishing interests did not learn from this mistake, and the mackerel fishing industry witnessed a similar collapse a decade later in the 1960s. The anchovy fishery followed in the 1970s. Insufficiently regulated fishing was the prime culprit for the demise of these various fisheries, but other factors such as climatic fluctuations and political inertia must take some of the blame as well. The political problems included conflicts between state and federal agencies, big and small farmers, and the northern and southern parts of the state. The laws that did exist typically provided negative protection for wildlife, meaning that laws to protect a species required proof of damage to the species before going into effect, instead of requiring proof that a given action would not harm a species before undertaking it. This muddled political situation, clouded both by special interest groups and by an uncertain scientific understanding of all the workings of nature in the ocean fisheries, produced a deadlock between industry and conservationists. Not until 1978 did most of these groups arrive at the solution that common sense should have dictated all along. As the 1978 Anchovy Management Plan states, "The conclusion which arises from these ecological considerations is that benefit to the nation occurs by leaving fish in the ocean." (227) The Fisherman's Problem is, first and foremost, and outstanding analysis of what transpired in the California fisheries between 1850 and 1980. McEvoy persuasively argues the broad themes of the story, such as the ongoing importance of the environment and political inertia. The support for his arguments comes from interpretation of documents along with several useful maps and a judicious use of tables and graphs to demonstrate the relationship of the data over time. Through it all, McEvoy achieves a style of writing that is impressively balanced, refraining from casting about for a single villain to blame for each problem. He successfully demonstrates the scientific issues plaguing the California fisheries and recognizes that this exploitation of the fisheries is part of the larger pattern of natural resource exploitation that dominated American economic thinking until the 1960s and 1970s and still prevails today among many conservatives. There is even recognition of recent research in game population dynamics indicating that the impressive salmon runs of the 1870s were probably due to the population declines among native peoples, making the seeming abundance of the salmon misleading. The book does what McEvoy set out to do, revealing all the complexities surrounding the fishing industry in California. McEvoy even employs the correct usage of the term logarithmic growth, a rare venture into mathematical terminology for an historian. In terms of content, only a few minor things are missing from The Fisherman's Problem. One relevant issue that went largely unexamined is the invasion of exotic species into California's coastal and inland waters and their impact on native species. In addition, certain aspects of the writing are lacking. Many of the quotes lack the punch that a good quote provides. Mainly, however, the story lacks the passion that makes a great story. McEvoy's writing is so balanced and neutral that it passes up opportunities to draw the reader in and make them care deeply about the subject. Countless times, the author had the opportunity to expose the political manipulations hurting efforts to protect the fishery, but each time let them pass. This refusal to name names and call out certain perpetrators is all that prevents a really good book from being truly excellent.

Review # 2 was written on 2010-02-16 00:00:00 Scott Holsinger McEvoy's thorough, well-researched, and not at all interesting examination of fishery issues in California that led to the passage of the 1976 FCMA constitutes a good case application of Garrett Hardin's "Tragedy of the Commons" problem. In short, the book presents a compelling but not especially sophisticated argument for increased sensitivity to environmental problems: brute self-interest will lead only to devastation. I'm really amazed at how readable this book was, given its subject matter (McEvoy himself says that he is following Robert Wiebe's injunction to write in simple prose so that laypeople can avail themselves of scholarly research).