Reference no: EM133196237 , Length: Word count: 3 Pages

Assignment Part 1: Fisheries and Aquaculture

Q1. Ecosystems like those found in the extreme environment of the Arctic have simple food webs, with only a few organisms at each trophic level, whereas ecosystems with more moderate climates have more robust food webs with many species. Why is a simple food web more vulnerable to collapse than a more complex one?

Q2. In what year did our fish print exceed the biocapacity of the ocean?

Q3. In one sentence, explain what has happened over time in terms of the human fish print and the ability of global oceans to support it.

Q4. Why do you suppose global biocapacity has decreased in recent years?

Q5. If sustainable fish farms (like the RAS system) are widely adopted, what would likely happen to biocapacity and fish print in the future? Explain why.

Assignment Part 2: Evaluating New Information

Watch the following videos. Make sure to support your answers to the questions below using evidence from these videos.

• Can the Oceans Keep Up with the Hunt?
• Jeremy Jackson: How we wrecked the Oceans
• The Four Fish we are Overeating and What to Eat Instead
• Enric Sala TED talk

Q1. In 2 paragraphs, summarize the main issues facing fish populations. Use information from the viewings to support your argument (arguments should clearly reflect information from and cite viewings).

Q2. Jeremy Jackson highlights several threats to marine populations, what similarities do these threats share with threats to biodiversity on land as discussed in the lecture videos from this week?

Q3. What do you think are the underlying drivers of this problem? What role can science play?

Q4. Describe 3 solutions to overfishing discussed in the viewings. Do you think these are achievable? Why or why not? What actions need to be taken or considered to address this issue?

Q5. What are the four fish we are overeating? Why these species? What kind of fish (traits, trophic level) should we be eating instead?

Q6. Describe Enric Sala's solution to overfishing.

Q7. What scientific information supports your answers to the above question?

Q8. What information surprised or concerned you most? Cite specific viewing/s.

Q9. Will this information change what seafood you eat? If so, how and why? If not, why not?

Assignment Part 3: Sustainable Choices

The Monterey Bay Aquarium provides consumers with information that identifies safe fish to eat, based on health and ecological considerations. Go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium website and explore its Seafood Watch section.

Read the About Us and Our Standards section to get background information about the organization.

1. Go to the site's seafood search option and type "salmon" in the Search Seafood Recommendations box. If you click on the colored square, you will find more information. Why are some salmon identified as fish to avoid and others not?

2. Select the link for Consumer Guides (under Seafood Recommendations tab) and choose the one for the area in which you live. Look at the different species of tuna listed. Identify which tuna species are recommended to eat and which are not, along with the reasons why (for each species). If you eat tuna, which type will you buy in the future?

3. Go back to the list of fish and find one that you eat frequently. (If you don't eat fish, try farmed tilapia or shrimp.) Is this a good fish to consume? Explain why or why no. If not, identify an alternate fish you could consume instead.

4. How might a program like Seafood Watch help the oceans?