Small-scale fisheries should not be favoured over large-scale operations ebcause of romantic notions of rugged small operators battling both the elements and anonymous corporations. [They ought to be supported] because of the scientific evidence available to confirm the common-sense inference that local fishers, if given privileged access, will tend to avoid trashing their local stocks, while foreign fishers do not have such motivation.
Interpretation
Small-scale fisheries should be supported for their sustainability rather than romanticized ideas of struggle.
This quote by Daniel Pauly highlights the importance of supporting small-scale fisheries not out of an idealized view of independent fishermen but based on scientific evidence showing that local fishers are more likely to manage their resources sustainably. It emphasizes the real-world implications of giving local fishers priority access to fisheries, which can lead to better preservation of fish stocks compared to larger, often corporate, fishing operations that lack the same incentive to maintain ecological balance.
In practice
In a discussion on sustainable practices, I would quote this to advocate for supporting local fisheries.
The fundamentalists deny that evolution has taken place; they deny that the earth and the universe as a whole are more than a few thousand years old, and so on. There is ample scientific evidence that the fundamentalists are wrong in these matters, and that their notions of cosmogony have about as much basis in fact as the Tooth Fairy has.
For Dawkins, evolution is a battle among genes, each seeking to make more copies of itself. Bodies are merely the places where genes aggregate for a time.
Mathematics allows for no hypocrisy and no vagueness.
Science makes people reach selflessly for truth and objectivity; it teaches people to accept reality, with wonder and admiration, not to mention the deep awe and joy that the natural order of things brings to the true scientist.
You will never find scientists leading armies into battle. You just won’t. Especially not astrophysicists -we see the biggest picture there is. We understand how small we are in the cosmos. We understand how fragile and temporary our existence is here on Earth. We understand there are bigger problems we need to solve as a species than what God you pray to.
I am a very bad scientist. I will do anything to make a human being feel better, even if it's unscientific. No scientist worthy of the name could say such a thing.
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