70 Biological Conservation

COUNCIL OF EUROPE RECOMMENDS

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

To create a new attitude towards Nature and a rational management of natural resources, the Council of Europe has recommended its 17 member govern- ments to introduce the principles of nature conserva- tion and ecology into their educational programmes at all levels and in all appropriate disciplines.

The Council's Committee of Ministers, which recently adopted a detailed recommendation on this subject considers that 'it would be presumptuous to wish to make fundamental changes in the educational structures and the school curricula in the near future', but they feel that 'as from now it is essential to study the means by which notions of nature conservation and of ecology may be inserted into the various traditional disciplines concerned'. These cart be grouped as follows: social studies, natural sciences, and applied sciences.

As a child grows, so he or she must realize that Man implants himself in Nature (of which in fact he is part), and that he is apt to transform and exploit it. The problems which such actions bring forth can only be dealt with in a multidisciplinary context. It is there- fore desirable to tackle these problems by themes, illuminated by the various disciplines under discussion and adapted to the level of education involved.

COUNCIL OF EUROPE, Maison de l'Europe, Avenue de l'Europe, 67 Strasbourg, France.

CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT OF OYSTERS IN IRELAND

and of the Fisheries Division of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, to determine the distribu- tion and size of these stocks, and to assess their potential for development. Extensive ecological re- search has been carried out and management tech- niques appropriate to the areas are now being developed.

Particular effort has been made to conserve and to increase the production from the two major public Oyster fisheries at Clarinbridge, Co. Galway, and Fenit, Co. Kerry. The settlement of Oysters has been increased by the provision of artificial collectors such as mussel shells and limed tiles, and the minimum legal size-limit of 76 mm across the broadest diameter of the oyster has been strictly enforced.

Conservation of the Irish Oyster stocks cannot be guaranteed merely by the management and develop- ment of public Oyster fisheries, and so the establish- ment of private fisheries is being encouraged. By suitable management and the use of sophisticated spat (spawn) collection techniques, supported by changes in legislation relating to the removal of small Oysters under official control, these public fisheries should provide Oyster 'seed' for the developing private sector, which in return will contribute to the upkeep of the public Oyster beds without loss to local fishing com- munities. The large-scale economic production of hatchery-reared oysters is a possibility for the future, but in the meantime the conservation of natural stocks is of prime importance in the management and development of Irish Oyster fisheries.

A. WHILDE, Resource Development Section, Irish Sea Fisheries Board, Hume House, Dublin 4, Ireland.

The European Flat Oyster, Ostrea edulis L., was once a common estuarine species throughout Europe, where it has been alternately a poor man's staple diet and a delicacy enjoyed only by the wealthy. At the present time it fills the latter category and is likely to remain so for some considerable period as its distri- bution and numbers are being reduced rapidly by disease, competition, predation, adverse weather conditions, land reclamation, and pollution.

In Ireland, oysters made up 4 per cent of the total value of shellfish landed in 1968. Several bays and estuaries, particularly on the west coast, still harbour natural populations, and although not extensive, these are generally free from the adverse factors mentioned above. During the last four years, intensive efforts have been made by staff of the Resource Development Section of the Irish Sea Fisheries Board

Too MANY HUNTERS IN ITALY?

Italy takes a sorry first place by having the highest proportion of hunters in the world (more than seventeen hundred thousand with a regular license in a population of 50 millions). The present law allows this imposing army to roam almost everywhere from the last Sunday of August through January I st, and to shoot migratory and non-migratory birds--without any bag limit and with only a few species protected. From I January until 31 March--with some locally variable regulations--only migratory species may be hunted, and then only from a stationary position and without dogs.

Until 1970 there was also a peculiar and sad hunting