Ethical Considerations in Fisheries Conservation and Utilization

The growing demand for seafood, recreational, and commercial fisheries from a sustainable conservation perspective (including the use of aquaculture in open systems) is a complex endeavor. This complexity is linked to differing goals and end points dependent on what and whose perspective is being considered.  To fully encompass the concept of a sustainable fisheries, input must be received not only from ecological, biological, and socio-economical perspectives but ethical considerations must be incorporated as well.  Ethics examines not only the descriptive aspect of what is the right thing to do from the three former components but the prescriptive aspect of why each should be considered collectively and independently.  The ethical aspects of societal input are often as complex as the ecological and economic considerations as they are contingent on the value society places on the resource and its (society’s) collective wisdom.  Yet, even within normative ethical constructs conflict can arise as to how the end game should be determined and how they are weighed in the ultimate decision matrix.  This presentation will address the ethical considerations of balancing conservation and utilization to sustain fisheries from differing normative ethical viewpoints.