ABSTRACT
This chapter shows the rapid depletion of one set of resources, marine mammals, which in principle could have been used indefinitely, if a suitable management system had been implemented. Losses of marine mammals — whales, dolphins, seals, manatees, and the like — constitute only a tiny portion of the overall devastation, but have caused particular concern because they serve as highly visible indicators of the difficulties other species, including humans, face. Ironically, protections instituted to protect some marine mammals have increased pressure on others. In Japan, the national appetite for whale meat has heightened the demand for Dall’s porpoise. Protections have brought some stability to the world’s overall population of marine mammals: the US Marine Mammal Protection Act was passed in 1972, the 38-nation International Whaling Commission began a moratorium on commercial whaling in 1986, the European Council of Ministers banned purse-seining of marine mammals in 1992, and members of the United Nations resolved to ban driftnets by 1993.
