Mackerel Fish
The Spanish mackerel and other commonly eaten fish are at a higher risk of contracting fungal infection when industrial effluents contaminate their water. A proposal has been put forth to reroute offshore, gallons of industrial effluents every day. Although this would substantially reduce the amount of effluents in the water bodies where mackerel are caught, the proposal is pointless, because hardly any mackerels live long enough to be harmed by these infections.
Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
- Contaminants in the water other than industrial effluents are equally harmful to mackerel.
- Humans often become ill as a result of eating mackerel with fungal infections.
- Mackerel, like other fresh-water fish, live longer in the isolated lakes than in water bodies close to industrialized land.
- Mackerel breed as readily in effluent-contaminated water as in unpolluted water.
- Fungal infections cannot be detected by examining the surface skin or scales of the fish.
Shouldn’t answer be C because if Mackerel lives longer in fresh water but in industrial water body, it means effluents avoid this species to live longer. Hence, reducing the effluents will help to protect the species from infection. On the contrary, option B appears wrong because argument says that fish doesn’t get affected by infection as they do not live long enough. As they can’t get the infection, it cannot be passed to the humans.
Well… I don’t think you have understood the argument properly.
“because hardly any mackerels live long enough to be harmed by these infections.” — does not mean that the fungi are not present in the dead bodies of these fish. And when humans eat them, these parasites will be passed on to them.
“water bodies close to industrialized land.” — does not mean that those water bodies are polluted. May be environmental conditions near such industrial lands are such that the fish do not live long enough.
Furthermore, the author’s point still stands as we do not know HOW MUCH LONGER do these fish last in isolated lakes. What if the difference turns out to be only one day — still not long enough to be harmed by these infections.
