Spears and harpoons are used commonly in the coastal lagoons and mountain 
streams for fishing at night with the aid of lights. It is believed that their use 
should be permitted, for this appears to be an important method by which utilisation 
of the fishery resource may be obtained. 
The costs of permits and license fees for fishing should be uniform throughout 
the Republic, and cheap enough to permit everyone to utilize the fishery resource, 
The use of poisons, electric seines, and explosives should be prohibited 
except for essential studies made by authorized technical personnel. 
Marine Fisheries 
The author is not aware of any existing regulations regarding the marine and 
brackish water fisheries. One note of warning should be made, and that concerns the 
frequent tendency towards unnecessary regulation of fisheries operations. Whenever the 
yield of fisheries decline, there is a tendency to attempt to remedy the situation by 
rules and-regulations restrictive to fishing effort and enterprise. Often the steps taken 
are based on little understanding of the phenomena involved. It is assumed too often 
that human agency is the sole or primary cause of the adverse change, when almost always 
the cause is periodic natural fluctuations in abundance. When human agency is the cause, 
the steps taken to right the situation are often incapable of achieving any desirable 
effect, and sometimes are harmful. 
It is urged that no restrictive regulations be imposed upon salt-water fisheries 
in Guatemalan waters until an exhaustive study has been made by a qualified biologist. 
Preconceived ideas, prejudice, and foreign regulations should not be used as a basis for 
formulating Guatemalan laws, All regulations should be based upon an adequate knowledge 
of the pertinent conditions in the specific waters involved. 
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