If we ignore politics, will politics ignore science?

Sir — Your News Feature “Fishing fortrouble” (Nature 431, 502–504; 2004)focuses on the potential environmentalrisks associated with tuna farming incoastal waters off North and CentralAmerica. In South Australia, on the otherhand, tuna farming is being undertaken in what we believe is an ecologicallysustainable manner.

Since 1991, the farming of southernbluefin tuna in South Australia has growninto the largest aquaculture industry (byvalue) in Australia. Production is currentlyat about 10,000 tonnes per annum, whichis considerably greater than that beingproduced in Mexico or planned for theUnited States.

When the industry was first establishedin Australia, many potential environmentalrisks were identified. Subsequently, as theindustry has developed, researchers havebeen able to confront some of these earlyspeculative statements with real data andexperience. An important part of thisprocess has been the development of asystem for identifying and quantifying

risks, which has been delivered throughprojects within the Cooperative ResearchCentre for Sustainable Aquaculture ofFinfish (Aquafin CRC), set up in 2002.

The Aquafin CRC aims to developknowledge and technologies to underpinthe sustainable growth of the finfishaquaculture industry in Australia and hasfunding of A$72 million (US$53 million)over seven years. This investment comesfrom the tuna and salmon industries, theFisheries R&D Corporation, universities,and state and federal research agencies.

In contrast to the fears expressed inyour News Feature about spreadingdisease, we have assessed the health ofcaptive tuna and in all cases the risksranged from negligible to low undercurrent practices (see www.sardi.sa.gov.au/sbt). Other studies have investigated theimpact of tuna farms on the compositionof sediments and benthic infaunalcommunities below the sea-cages. Theseassessments provide just one measure ofthe environmental performance of theindustry, so research programmes within

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the Aquafin CRC are now aimed atidentifying the nature and quantities offarm wastes and understanding regionaleffects, such as the impact of farmingoperations on silver gulls and other keyspecies, including sharks and pinnipeds.

Although we acknowledge that yourNews Feature provides information thatwill inform the debate about potential risks of tuna farming in North America, wewould argue that tuna farming (and indeedany finfish aquaculture) can be practised ina sustainable manner. The real strength inthe model adopted by the Aquafin CRCand its partners is that these issues, ratherthan fuelling public concern and criticismabout sustainability, are openly androbustly confronted through research and resolved through the development of appropriate mitigation strategies.Anthony Cheshire*, John Volkman†*South Australian Research and DevelopmentInstitute, PO Box 120, Henley Beach,South Australia 5022, Australia†CSIRO Marine Research, GPO Box 1538,Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia

Politics: scientists are asqualified as anyone elseSir — M. J. Hsu and G. Agoramoorthyargue, in Correspondence, that scientistsand teachers should ignore politics (Nature 431, 627; 2004), citing TaiwaneseNobel laureate Lee Yuan-tseh as anexample of a scientist’s unsatisfactoryinvolvement in politics.

Lee is a highly respected scientistworldwide. This is especially true in his home country, where he has devotedhimself to the welfare of the people. In his constant endeavours for Taiwanesesciences, there is not the slightest evidencethat Lee has ever been biased by hispolitical preference. It seems to us thatciting a signature campaign against him is in itself a political action.

It is pervasive thinking in Taiwan that scientists should not get involved inpolitics under any circumstances. Themain reason, pointed out by advocates of this ideology, is that expertise in science does not guarantee that scientistsare masters in politics.

But who does qualify as a master ofpolitics, in reality? Studying politics as anacademic discipline is very different frompractising it. Meanwhile, this positiondeprives scientists of their rights toparticipate in debating public policies.

Scientists can also make a positivecontribution when engaged in the politicalsystem. They could contribute to a moreenvironmentally friendly energy policy,for example, or security regulations that donot scare away international scholars.

In this regard, Nobel laureates whoendorse the politicians they respect shouldbe encouraged, not condemned.Chun-Liang Pan*, Ming-Chang Chiang†*Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University ofCalifornia, Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, USA†Biomedical Engineering InterdepartmentalProgram, University of California, Los Angeles,Los Angeles, California 90095, USA

If we ignore politics, willpolitics ignore science?Sir — The recent News stories andCorrespondence on the relationshipbetween politicians and academics (Nature430, 595; 431, 1; 431, 627; and 431, 1036;2004) missed a central issue: will politicsignore the scientists?

Nobel laureates in the United States andTaiwan have recently felt compelled tobecome involved in presidential politics.The explanation most frequently offeredfor this phenomenon is simply “It’s theirright as citizens”, but the reasons often godeeper than that. Modern scientific and

academic research has become so costlythat little of the most cutting-edge researchcan be accomplished without governmentapproval or support, providing a strongmotivation for politicking. To be ignoredwould be a disaster.

Furthermore, in less democraticsocieties (such as Taiwan was in the recentpast) control over intellectual freedom is well documented, providing a strongreason for resistance.

Only 13 years ago, I was told by one of my students that a teacher-officer hadasked him whether I had “talked aboutpolitics” in my lectures. Teacher-officerswere military officers, stationed at Taiwan’s universities in those days to work closely with the then-rulingNationalist Party on a variety of duties,which included keping an eye on politicalactivists on campus.

The recent democratization process in Taiwan has led to a major change in teacher-officers’ duties. But the oldpolitical atmosphere remains much in evidence. It is no wonder that yourcorrespondent M. J. Hsu, who is currentlyat Taiwan’s National Sun Yat-sen University(Nature 431, 627; 2004), should wish thatwe could all just ignore politics.Ying-Hen HsiehDepartment of Applied Mathematics,National Chung Hsing University,Taichung, Taiwan

Australians net benefits of sustainable fish farmingIssues of concern need to be recognized, confronted through research and resolved.

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© 2004 Nature Publishing Group

© 2004 Nature Publishing Group