Ethical Issues in Darwin’s Nightmare

Ethical Issues in Darwin’s Nightmare

Introduction

The Role of Power in Darwin’s Nightmare

According to Buchholtz and Caroll (2008) corporate power refers to the ability or capacity to produce an effect or to bring influence to bear on situation or people and it has different levels and spheres. In case of Darwin’s nightmare the level of power is intermediate or macro, since the main actors are firms based on the fishery on Tanzanian coasts of Lake Victoria and the European Union (EU) which has an increasing market for the fish. The spheres of their power being employed in this case are environmental, economic, social/cultural and political.

As for the environmental sphere, Lake Victoria, the largest tropical lake in the world, is situated in the heart of Africa, divided by three countries: Tanzania (49%), Kenya (6%) and Uganda (45%). The lake was and is Africa’s largest inland fishery, although in the past there were much more species than nowadays. In the 1950s and 60s a new predator, the Nile Perch was artificially introduced into the lake. The aim of this decision remained unclear: some argue that it was a part of a scientific experiment, others say that the native species were too small and bony to feed the fishermen and their family and also there was a need for an economically more valuable fish.

The social and economic sphere of power can be seen in the fishing industry. The health conscious lifestyle of Western European people has increased the consumption and so the demand for Nile Perch among many kind of fishes. Fish processing plants were founded around Lake Victoria with the financial support of the EU and these plants became the most important employers in the Mwanza region. They took advantage of their important position and pay as low wages and price for the fish as possible. Hundreds of farmers from the surrounding villages gave up their previous work and life and became one of the fishermen or the limited workforce of the processing plants so that they can feed their family. Orphaned children and widowed women also moved into town and became prostitutes to serve pilots‘ and fishermen’s needs.

The plane which carries the fish officially arrive empty or with humanitarian aids to Tanzania and they transport the fish on their way back to Europe. In the real life they carry smuggled guns and other armed weapons to support the surrounding countries’ wars and dictators.

Ethical Issues in Darwin’s Nightmare

Along with the environmental, economic, social/cultural and political spheres of power, three ethical issues must be examined in order to discover the extent to which the upper mentioned firms used and abused their power.