Sustained+yield+management

[|Sustained Yield Management] (SYM) is the maximum yield of natural capital that can be extracted without reducing the base of capital itself. SYM can be traced to Gifford Pinchot and his idea of the "wise management" of resources. A key concept of SYM is [|Maximum Sustained Yield] (MSY), which is the largest yield of resources that can be taken from a source over an indefinite period, or more simply, harvesting the "interest" of a resource over a period of time.

In the case of the Atlantic Seal Hunt, sustained yield management requires looking at data provided on cod stock numbers and harvesting with a sustainable outlook (only taking the interest). The total allowable catch is based on this concept of examining population quantities and only extracting what is not considered to be part of the proportion so that they exist in indefinitely. Sustained yield management is based on an economic worldview, which implies that nature can be understood and calculated. Ecologists recommend using strong precaution when applying the concept because room for error is necessary for the welfare of the natural environment.

Other axis which might help add meaning to how the MSY is calculated is on the Y-axis dN/dT (growth rate), and on the X-axis Generation time (time it takes for the population to reproduce could be years for mammals or hours for bacteria) these factors allow the graph to be examined to determine the maximum yield in one mating season. This MSY graph shows Reproduction rate as the slope of the line, the ideal Maximum sustainable yield would be when the population is growing the fastest in the littlest time unit. TIme unit would be Generation time varies on every species and would allow you to harvest the amount of fish growth per generation time.

In regards to the seal hunt, SYM only applies if accurate numbers of seals can be determined. Estimates taken by the DFO have seen populations varying in the millions. If estimates can be so far off, it questions the DFO's methodology for measuring seal numbers. To take a sustainable number, the lowest estimate should probably be used to determine the SYM. However, its obvious whatever numbers are needed to sustain the local economy will be killed. The socio-political aspect of NFLD looks to only the economic needs of the community, regardless of scientific study. The disaster of the cod fisheries proves the inability of scientific study to be of any usefulness to government.

One example of such a complex issue is the case of the [|Canadian Atlantic seal hunt]. Overfishing (the economic aspect) in the North Atlantic has decimated fish populations, particularly the Northern cod (environmental), which are vital to fishing communities in Newfoundland (social). The Canadian Government is convinced that Harp seals, the most numerous seal species in the North Atlantic, are one of the factors inhibiting the rebuilding of the Atlantic fishery, and therefore must be [|culled]. Because of the range of interests represented in each pillar of sustainability, balance, as presented in the above case, is very rarely struck.