49 



• Because fishing activity seeks to take the last available ton of 

 fish without diminishing the stock, and because itis impossible 

 to count that stock, it is necessary to estimate the sustainable 

 yield through a measurement of fishing effort in relation to yield. 

 Measuring fishing effort is extremely difficult, especially when 

 nations are competing for the same resources. (58) 



• When such measurements have been made and assessments produced 

 concerning available harvest, the means of monitoring and enforcing 

 the allowed harvest must be considered. These means are generally 

 expressed through management regulations. Enforcement is nearly 

 impossible. Observation of ewery vessel's activity has not been possible, 

 so compliance can be avoided if desired. In addition, competing 

 nations in international waters, harvesting what are now seen to be 

 highly limited resources, can only enforce management through Inter- 

 national Commissions, which have traditionally served member nations' 

 specific interests rather than the interests of the resources as a 

 whole. Cooperation has usually come only when massive stock declines 

 have occurred, for then all nations participating in the fishery 

 suffer. (59) 



• Whereas survey data can be developed in a consistent, planned manner, 

 effort determination is extremely difficult to chart through time in 

 the face of continual technological developments. Such developments 

 have vastly complicated interpretation of effort data. (60) 



Clearly, fisheries stock assessment is a science based on indirect 

 data. Yet demands increase upon that science to provide specific, refined 

 numbers in the process of making allocation decisions. Such decisions 



must currently depend on assessments that have historically considered 



f 62) 

 single species of fish rather than the total marine biomass.^ While it 



is well understood that a knowledge of the marine ecosystem is of paramount 

 importance, assessments cost money and that money has to come from industry 

 or host governments. In both cases, the primary interest has been in 

 fisheries of commercial value (individual species); assessments have, 

 therefore, been funded by-and-large with the objective of determining in- 

 formation about a single species rather than the total marine biomass. 

 This funding has been further specialized due to the depletions that have 



