Gone FishingThe lab activity described here was created by Erin Bardar of TERC for the EarthLabs project.
Summary and Learning Objectives
This lab activity introduces students to overfishing, using Georges Bank groundfish as a case study. In Part A, students learn about overfishing by examining trends in annual haddock landings and mortality in Georges Bank from 1969-2004. In Part B, they learn about what it means for a species to be overfished by examining trends in Georges Bank Atlantic cod recruitments and biomass from 1978-2004. In Part C, students explore whether or not it is possible to reverse the effects of overfishing through ecosystem and fisheries management.After completing this investigation, students will be able to:
- analyze annual fish landing, mortality, and biomass data;
- explain what caused the collapse of groundfish populations in New England;
- define the terms overfishing and overfished; and
- understand how MPAs can be effective management tools for preventing and reviving overfished populations.
Context for Use
Having already learned some about the basics of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Lab 4: To Fish or Not to Fish?, students are prepared to learn more about the specific human practices and actions that make these protected areas necessary. In this lab, they will learn about overfishing, using the Georges Bank region off the New England coast as a case study.
This lab takes one to two 50-60 minute class periods. Readings can be assigned as homework.
Activity Overview and Teaching Materials
In Part A of this lab, students examine trends in Georges Bank haddock catches and fishing mortality from 1969-2004. In doing so, they are introduced to how scientists determine whether or not a species is subject to overfishing.
In Part B, students examine trends in Georges Bank Atlantic cod recruitment and biomass from 1969-2004, in order to learn about what it means for a species to be overfished. They also read the History of the groundfishing industry in New England to learn about how Georges Bank fisheries came to be in such dire conditions.
In Part C, students read about the success of MPAs and fishing zone closures in rejuvenating certain fish stocks in Georges Bank. They also examine the most recent combined landings and biomass data, in order to determine whether rebuilding has been sustained for haddock ad cod in this region.
- Activity Sheet (PDF (Acrobat (PDF) 34kB Jan28 08) and Word (Microsoft Word 28kB Jan28 08))
- Suggested Answers
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- History of the groundfishing industry in New England
- Protecting Fish and Fishermen: Marine Reserves in the United States Demonstrate Major Benefits to Fisheries
- NOAA Fishwatch Atlantic cod profile
Teaching Notes and Tips
It may be helpful to have students create a glossary of unfamiliar vocabulary terms and acronyms.
You can assess student understanding of topics addressed in this Investigation by grading their responses to the Stop and Think questions.
State and National Science Teaching Standards
California Science Teaching Standards met by this activityDeveloper will correlate activity to standards in these documents:
Earth science content standards - Grades 9 to 12
Biology content standards (see Ecology) - Grades 9 to 12
Investigation and Experimentation Standards - Grades 9 to 12
Developer will correlate activity to standards in this document:PDF of Science and technology standards Earth science standards begin on page 112
Developer will correlate activity to standards in this document:Learning standards for science
Developer will correlate activity to standards in this document:North Carolina Standard Course of Study
Developer will correlate activity to standards in this document:Texas Essential Knowldege and Skills (TEKS)
Developer will correlate activity to standards listed at this site:National Science Education Standards (SRI)
- The NOAA Office of Sustainable Fisheries web page provides access to information associated with and resulting from National Marine Fisheries Service implementation of the Sustainable Fisheries Act, including 1996 changes and amendments to the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act. From this page, you can access documents and reports concerning overfishing and stock assessments in U.S. fisheries.
- Each year the National Marine Fisheries Service supplies Congress with a report called The Status of the Stocks. This report summarizes the known data from each of the eight regional fish councils and reports on their progress toward ending overfishing and rebuilding overfished stocks as mandated by the 1996 Sustainable Fisheries Act.
- The Ocean Conservancy Overfishing Scorecard uses data from the Status of the Stocks report to highlight the activities of the regional fish councils that are helping to end overfishing and rebuild overfished fish stocks; share solutions; provide important perspective by comparing management across regions; highlight progress-or problems-in areas that might not be readily apparent; encourage best practices; and advance the dialogue about how to achieve sustainable fisheries throughout U.S. waters.
- The Economist article A rising tide: Scientists find proof that privatising fishing stocks can avert a disaster discusses how the projected collapse of the fishing industry might be avoidable by privatisation of commercial fisheries and what are known as catch shares or Individual Transferable Quotas (ITQs).