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Mark S. Boyce
Recovery of the great whales will not be rapid because of their low fecundity
and long time to maturation. Thus the great whales will be slow to respond, and
any krill resources released by the exploitation of Minke Whales are likely to be
used by smaller species with greater reproductive potential (e.g., penguins, Crabeater Seals, and fish). It is by no means certain that the krill-based community is
an equilibrium system, an issue that also plagued attempts to anticipate consequences of proposed human harvests of Antarctic krill over a decade ago (May
1984). Therefore, the food resource as well as consumer populations may be
expected to undergo highly dynamic fluctuations. Or multiple equilibria may
exist, say, due to Allee effects or diffuse competition, such that some stocks may
never recover from the excesses of the 1930–1970 slaughter. Thus, it is not certain
that this complex multispecies system can return to some preexploitation equilibrium, or if it can, that Minke Whale harvests will facilitate restoration.
Economic Considerations
Effective ecosystem management must consider human values, and economics
certainly has played a primary role in the management of whales in the past.
For example, capital investment in whaling ships is so great that economic motivation for curtailing whaling will not occur even if stocks dwindle toward extinction (Clark 1975). Fundamental to frustrations of managing whale stocks is the
“tragedy of the commons” associated with resource management of the ocean,
whereby economic incentives invariably lead to overexploitation (Hardin 1968;
Myers 1993).
For several reasons developed above, we cannot be completely confident that
the RMP can be used effectively for the conservation of whale stocks. The fact
that Iceland and Norway have decided to ignore the IWC’s direction calls to
question the ability of the IWC to implement regulations. Rather whale conservation may be better driven by the creative use of economic incentives. Indeed, it has
been economic incentives to kill whales that have led to the severe depletion of
stocks. Financial issues largely underlie the future management of whales as well
(e.g., one of the dilemmas facing the future of whales and whaling is the source of
funds for research and monitoring of whale stocks). Surveys to count whales cost
enormous sums of money, and only in anticipation of future whaling has Japan
been convinced to invest in these surveys. One alternative would be to impose a
tax on future catches that could be used for monitoring and research. Perhaps the
United Nations could organize quotas sold to the highest bidder, thus allowing
financial intervention by the antiwhaling community willing to buy permits to
prevent whaling (Myers 1993). Left to free enterprise, commercial whaling
threatens the very existence of the resource on which it depends (Clark 1975).
Adaptive Management
The IWC is not proposing to begin use of the RMP on a strictly experimental basis
to evaluate the CLA’s efficacy. Rather, if implemented, it may be used as a
Mark S. Boyce
Recovery of the great whales will not be rapid because of their low fecundity
and long time to maturation. Thus the great whales will be slow to respond, and
any krill resources released by the exploitation of Minke Whales are likely to be
used by smaller species with greater reproductive potential (e.g., penguins, Crabeater Seals, and fish). It is by no means certain that the krill-based community is
an equilibrium system, an issue that also plagued attempts to anticipate consequences of proposed human harvests of Antarctic krill over a decade ago (May
1984). Therefore, the food resource as well as consumer populations may be
expected to undergo highly dynamic fluctuations. Or multiple equilibria may
exist, say, due to Allee effects or diffuse competition, such that some stocks may
never recover from the excesses of the 1930–1970 slaughter. Thus, it is not certain
that this complex multispecies system can return to some preexploitation equilibrium, or if it can, that Minke Whale harvests will facilitate restoration.
Economic Considerations
Effective ecosystem management must consider human values, and economics
certainly has played a primary role in the management of whales in the past.
For example, capital investment in whaling ships is so great that economic motivation for curtailing whaling will not occur even if stocks dwindle toward extinction (Clark 1975). Fundamental to frustrations of managing whale stocks is the
“tragedy of the commons” associated with resource management of the ocean,
whereby economic incentives invariably lead to overexploitation (Hardin 1968;
Myers 1993).
For several reasons developed above, we cannot be completely confident that
the RMP can be used effectively for the conservation of whale stocks. The fact
that Iceland and Norway have decided to ignore the IWC’s direction calls to
question the ability of the IWC to implement regulations. Rather whale conservation may be better driven by the creative use of economic incentives. Indeed, it has
been economic incentives to kill whales that have led to the severe depletion of
stocks. Financial issues largely underlie the future management of whales as well
(e.g., one of the dilemmas facing the future of whales and whaling is the source of
funds for research and monitoring of whale stocks). Surveys to count whales cost
enormous sums of money, and only in anticipation of future whaling has Japan
been convinced to invest in these surveys. One alternative would be to impose a
tax on future catches that could be used for monitoring and research. Perhaps the
United Nations could organize quotas sold to the highest bidder, thus allowing
financial intervention by the antiwhaling community willing to buy permits to
prevent whaling (Myers 1993). Left to free enterprise, commercial whaling
threatens the very existence of the resource on which it depends (Clark 1975).
Adaptive Management
The IWC is not proposing to begin use of the RMP on a strictly experimental basis
to evaluate the CLA’s efficacy. Rather, if implemented, it may be used as a