Are the Ugly Truths Not Ugly Enough?

Abstract

In recent years there has been an increase in the number of papers, many of which have been published in high profile journals, that address real environmental or ecological problems, but with flawed, subjective, and frequently hyperbolic arguments. I identify two such examples from the US Gulf of Mexico, linked by their focus on fisheries resources as the cause de jour, to illustrate the problem and express my concerns. If this trend continues, we should not be surprised when managers and policy makers who need objective, defensible, scientific answers no longer solicit our inputs.