1.8.1: Activity 1

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Read the passage below and write a summary in 100 words or less. Then, rewrite your summary in 50 words or less. Remember that the goal of a summary is to convey the main idea and most important supporting ideas briefly and accurately in your own words.

Finding a Middle Ground

Fishing Regulations

One of the many important things government does is regulate public access to common goods like natural resources. Unlike public goods, which all people may use without charge, common goods are in limited supply. If more public schools are needed, the government can build more. If more firefighters or mail carriers are needed, the government can hire them. Public lands and wildlife, however, are not goods the government can simply multiply if supply falls due to demand. Indeed, if some people take too freely from the supply of common goods, there will not be enough left for others to use.

Fish are one of the many common goods in which the government currently regulates access. It does so to ensure that certain species are not fished into extinction, thus depriving future generations of an important food source and a means to make a living. This idea is known as sustainability. Environmentalists want to set strict fishing limits on a variety of species. Commercial fishers resist these limits, claiming they are unnecessary and, if enforced, would drive them out of business (Figure 8.1.1). Currently, fishing limits are set by a combination of scientists, politicians, local resource managers, and groups representing the interests of fishers.

UniversityOfVictoria on Twitter: "New #research involving UVic's @baumlab , @UW and global #scientists published Jan. 13 in @PNASNews shows global fisheries management is working, main reason stocks at sustainable levels #UnivResearch @UVicScience — Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Fishing provides income, as well as food, for many Americans, However, without government restrictions on the kinds and number of fish that can be caught, the fish population would decline and certain species could become extinct. This would ultimately lead to the loss of jobs and income as well as a valuable source of nourishment. (Credit: Michael L. Baird)

Should the government regulate fishing? Is it right to interfere with people's ability to earn money today in order to protect the access of future generations to the nation's common goods?