.
224
Tlze Last Resource
The time-lag of ve years before the amended Convention came
into force indicates the kind of inertia created by conicting national
interests when international agreements are given any real ‘bite’.
The political ramications of even the most innocuous suggestions
are frequently quite beyond the casual observer and, occasionally,
scientic advisors associated with them. This dichotomy between
'
scientists and politicians can lead to very real conict of interests.
'
Nowhere is this more apparent than in the operation of various
shery commissions, some of which are composed largely of
scientists while others are governed largely by politicians or pro—
fessional administrators. The failure of the International Whaling
Commission to take the advice of its scientic committee is a case
in point. The collapse of the whaling industry, described in Chapter
I, could have been prevented if national, commercial interests had
not discarded quotas for catches within limits suggested by the
scientic evidence on existing whale populations. F ortunately, not
all international groups prove quite so intractable and agreements
reached by them are undoubtedly setting the pattern for future
negotiations on other matters such as problems arising from marine
mining.
Until very recently, the advanced maritime nations of Western
Europe and North America have dominated maritime disputes and
agreements but the developing nations are beginning to redress the
balance by taking a more active interest in the oceans. The gulf
between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have—nots’ remains, but the oppor—
-
tunities to make real contributions to the economy based on even
the most modest research effort are very great. The newly—trained
marine scientists and engineers in developing countries can help
improve the exploitation of sh resources in surrounding sea areas,
for example. Dr R. Subrahmanyan in a paper published in 1959
showed just how ineective this exploitation can be. He studied
phytoplankton production in the Arabian Sea along the 1,200 mile
coastline of India and extending off—shore for 50 miles. He related
this primary production to sh catches in the area and then made a
similar comparison of the ratio of phytoplankton to sh caught in
the English Channel, an area of intensive exploitation. His con—
clusion was that the potential yield available to Indian shermen was
1,1 19,000 tons—an increase of the order of 660,000 tons.
Over the years, developing countries have received considerable
aid and technical advice but on the whole this assistance has been on
224
Tlze Last Resource
The time-lag of ve years before the amended Convention came
into force indicates the kind of inertia created by conicting national
interests when international agreements are given any real ‘bite’.
The political ramications of even the most innocuous suggestions
are frequently quite beyond the casual observer and, occasionally,
scientic advisors associated with them. This dichotomy between
'
scientists and politicians can lead to very real conict of interests.
'
Nowhere is this more apparent than in the operation of various
shery commissions, some of which are composed largely of
scientists while others are governed largely by politicians or pro—
fessional administrators. The failure of the International Whaling
Commission to take the advice of its scientic committee is a case
in point. The collapse of the whaling industry, described in Chapter
I, could have been prevented if national, commercial interests had
not discarded quotas for catches within limits suggested by the
scientic evidence on existing whale populations. F ortunately, not
all international groups prove quite so intractable and agreements
reached by them are undoubtedly setting the pattern for future
negotiations on other matters such as problems arising from marine
mining.
Until very recently, the advanced maritime nations of Western
Europe and North America have dominated maritime disputes and
agreements but the developing nations are beginning to redress the
balance by taking a more active interest in the oceans. The gulf
between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have—nots’ remains, but the oppor—
-
tunities to make real contributions to the economy based on even
the most modest research effort are very great. The newly—trained
marine scientists and engineers in developing countries can help
improve the exploitation of sh resources in surrounding sea areas,
for example. Dr R. Subrahmanyan in a paper published in 1959
showed just how ineective this exploitation can be. He studied
phytoplankton production in the Arabian Sea along the 1,200 mile
coastline of India and extending off—shore for 50 miles. He related
this primary production to sh catches in the area and then made a
similar comparison of the ratio of phytoplankton to sh caught in
the English Channel, an area of intensive exploitation. His con—
clusion was that the potential yield available to Indian shermen was
1,1 19,000 tons—an increase of the order of 660,000 tons.
Over the years, developing countries have received considerable
aid and technical advice but on the whole this assistance has been on