Luddites and fishermen : a note on response to technological change

THE TRAWLERMEN"S CHARGES AGAINST THE OVERKILL OF THE FOREIGN FACTORY FLEETS ARE RECOGNIZED INCREASINGLY AS BEING WELL FOUNDED. THEIR ADVOCACY OF A 200-MILE LIMIT THUS IS POINTING TO AN IMPORTANT CONCOMITANT OF TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION, THE NEED FOR SOCIAL INNOVATION. UNRESTRAINED USE OF TECHNOLOGY POSES MANY DANGERS IN DIVERSE AREAS OF HUMAN LIFE AND IS BEING DISCREDITED. IN FISHERIES TECHNOLOGY, THE DANGER OF THE UNREGULATED USE OF THE FACTORY FLEET TECHNOLOGY MAY BE THE END OF FISHING, AS MAXIMUM SUSTAINABLE YIELDS ARE EXCEEDED MORE READILY. THE NEED TO RESTRICT ALL NATIONS IN THE APPLICATION OF INCREASINGLY EFFICIENT TECHNOLOGIES TO CONFORM TO THE LIMITS OF THE RESOURCE BEING EXPLOITED IS EXEMPLIFIED HERE IN THE STUDY OF SEVERAL NEW ENGLAND FISHERIES. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FISHING TECHNOLOGY AND RESOURCES HAS REACHED THE POINT AT WHICH THERE NO LONGER IS THE LUXURY OF TRIAL-AND-ERROR SOLUTIONS.