Question: The fishing industry cannot currently be relied upon to help the government count the seabirds killed by net fishing, since an accurate count might result in restriction of net fishing. The government should therefore institute a program under which tissue samples from the dead birds are examined to determine the amount of toxins in the fish eaten by the birds. The industry would then have a reason to turn in the bird carcasses, since the industry needs to know whether the fish it catches are contaminated with toxins.
Which one of the following, if true, most strongly indicates that the government program would not by itself provide an accurate count of the seabirds killed by net fishing?
(A) The seabirds killed by net fishing might be contaminated with several different toxins even if the birds eat only one kind of fish
(B) The fishing industry could learn whether the fish it catches are contaminated with toxins if only a few of the seabirds killed by the nets were examined
(C) The government could gain valuable information about the source of toxins by examining tissue samples of the seabirds caught in the nets.
(D) The fish caught in a particular net might be contaminated with the same toxins as those in the seabirds caught in that net.
(E) The government would be willing to certify that the fish caught by the industry are not contaminated with toxins if tests done on the seabirds showed no contamination
“The fishing industry cannot currently be relied upon to help”- is a critical thinking GMAT question. In order to respond to the question, a candidate may decide to present an illogical argument or look for evidence that would refute it. A candidate's capacity for logic and analysis is evaluated on the GMAT critical reasoning exam. Candidates must point out the argument's benefits and drawbacks as well as its logical errors with regard to this subject. Ten to thirteen questions on critical reasoning are included in the CR section of the 36 GMAT verbal questions.
Answer: (B)
Explanation: Since an accurate count could lead to prohibitions on net fishing, the fishing industry cannot currently be forced to rely upon to assist the government in counting the seabirds killed by net fishing. Therefore, the government should set up a programme where tissue samples from the deceased birds are examined to ascertain the level of toxins in the fish the birds consumed. Since the industry needs to know whether the fish it catches are tainted with toxins, it would then have a reason to turn in the bird carcasses.
The question asks for an answer from the following with the following specification. It must strongly suggest that the government programme would be unable to provide a precise count of the seabirds killed by net fishing.
Analyzing each option separately will help in determining the correct answer.
Option - A : Incorrect
Even if the seabirds only consume one type of fish, this option contends that the seabirds killed by net fishing may be contaminated with a variety of toxins. Understanding a variety of toxins does not disprove the notion that the government's plan would fail. Therefore this option is ruled out.
Option - B : Correct
This option says that if only a small sample of the seabirds killed by the nets were examined, the fishing industry could learn whether the fish it catches are contaminated with toxins. The number of seabirds killed by nets can range from 1000 to 100,000 or more if only a small sample (10 or 100 seabirds) are used to determine that the fish caught is contaminated. There is no higher cap on the quantity of seabirds that can be killed. They might have been killed for yet another reason as well. As a result, this is the correct answer.
Option - C : Incorrect
This option states that by examining tissue samples from the seabirds caught in the nets, the government could learn important facts about the origin of the toxins. Once again, the main issue is not the source of the toxins. Therefore this option is ruled out.
Option - D : Incorrect
According to this option, fish caught in a specific net may contain the same toxins as seabirds caught in the same net. Yes, possibly, but this does not aid in maintaining a precise count. Therefore this option is ruled out.
Option - E : Incorrect
According to this option, if tests on seabirds revealed no contamination, the government would be willing to certify that the fish caught by the industry are toxin-free. The willingness of the government has absolutely no bearing on the accuracy of the number of seabirds killed. Therefore this option is ruled out.
From the explanations given above, it is clear that the second option is the perfect choice.
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