Cubagua’s Pearl-Oyster Beds: The First Depletion of a Natural Resource Caused by Europeans in the American Continent

Abstract

Cubagua’s Pearl-Oyster Beds: The First Depletion of a Natural Resource Caused by Europeans in the American Continent Interdisciplinary approaches to understanding the causes and mechanisms of depletion of natural resources can provide powerful tools in biological conservation policy. We report here what we believe was the first case of a depletion of a natural resource in the American continent by Europeans: the pearl-oyster (Pinctada imbricata) beds off the coast of Cubagua, Venezuela, in the early sixteenth century. Key words: Pearl-oysters, Depletion, Natural Resources, Overexploitation, Human Rights, Venezuela, Cubagua.