02-01-2011, 11:49 PM
The best conservation efforts I have seen are "no take zones" where all harvesting is banned in a significant geographic area.
You find that the populations recover so well in those areas that the fish, lobster, whatever, will migrate out into the surrounding areas - which then become some of the best "hunting" grounds around.
Personally, I'd like to see a 50/50 rule on the planet - set 50% of each environment aside as no-take, no-development. As it has been historically, man develops 100% of the "best" areas first - often turning them into the worst areas in 100 years or so.