LSAT 138 | Section 2 | Logical Reasoning: Q26

LR Question 26 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Sarah: When commercial fishing boats with permits to…

QUESTION TYPE: Method of Reasoning

ARGUMENTS: Sarah says that fishermen should be allowed to keep accidental catches, to prevent waste.

Amar says this would give fishermen an incentive to make more ‘accidental’ catches.

ANALYSIS: Amar makes a good point. If fishermen could keep fish they catch by accident, then some would purposely catch more illegal fish.

If an inspector caught them, they could claim they caught the fish ‘accidentally’. It would be hard to prove they caught the fish on purpose.

___________

1. Amar only thinks the recommendation would lead to bad results. He definitely agrees it could be implemented.
2. Amar uses the term ‘accident’ in a different sense, but he doesn’t accuse Sarah of doing so.
3. Amar’s argument weakens Sarah’s case, by showing that fishermen might abuse the system.
4. CORRECT. The negative consequence is that Sarah’s rule would encourage fishermen to cheat.
5. Amar doesn’t mention the past.