Instant myth: the case of the west Greenland salmon

It has been said that scientific truths begin as heresies and end as myths, enjoying a period of orthodox acceptance in between. It must be rare, if this is so, for a myth to be imposed upon the public as a “truth”, to be accepted immediately as such, and then to suffer excommunication as heresy. Su...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar Record
Main Author: Dunbar, M. J.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1975
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247400032174
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247400032174
Description
Summary:It has been said that scientific truths begin as heresies and end as myths, enjoying a period of orthodox acceptance in between. It must be rare, if this is so, for a myth to be imposed upon the public as a “truth”, to be accepted immediately as such, and then to suffer excommunication as heresy. Such a case is at hand in the matter of the sea-life area of the Atlantic Salmon in Davis Strait and of the start of a new pelagic fishery.