Sustainable Fishing. (Social Studies)

Overfishing is a massive issue. Another issue being bycatch. Bycatch is the invisible victim of the fishing industry. Bycatch is the extra ocean life that isn't meaning to be caught however are on "accident".

Surprisingly over 4.6 million commercial fishing boats cover the oceans of the earth showing that fishing is a massive industry. These commercial fishing boats have nets that can reach 100m behind the boat. The nets hold many baited hooks making it possible to catch hundreds of fish at once. A company called the dolphin-safe corporation allows their mark to be used on tuna cans ensuring that what is in the can or tin was caught safely. This means that the fishing which caught the fish didn't harm or kill any dolphin. An interview with a member of the corporation says that he can't guarantee that the fish were caught safely for dolphins even with observers aboard the shipping vessels. He says that the observers are rarely aboard ships and when they are there is the issue that they can be bribed. 

Governments, lawbreakers, and unrestricted areas all have meaning when it comes to this issue. The government has the job and responsibility to protect the oceans of their country. Governments easily give up. Even with them doing a good job there are many many people that could and would break any laws. There is also the issue that unrestricted areas could lose all the marine life that live there as the fisherman and woman wouldn't stop fishing until they couldn't catch anymore. The reason they fish so much is they can feed themselves and sell their catch for money. So buying fish products gives them a reason to catch fish which is more cause of bycatch. Therefore more dolphins are put at risk.

Why is this such an issue? Based on the research of the past 50 years the population of the bluefin tuna fish has dropped over 70%. Off the coast of France, 10,000 dolphins die a year. 300,000 dolphins and whales die a year as bycatch. If this continues there won't be fish or dolphins or whales or any marine life. The same thing happens with birdlife. They feed themselves with fish from the ocean. These birds then starve or end up caught when trying to acquire their food. Is 100% sustainable fishing possible? It is highly unlikely however not impossible. I don't believe that humans will ever be able to make the planet 100% sustainable in the fishing industry although it could be and may be done. 

Corrosion. (Science)

Hypothesis:

Iron Nall corrode. Will corrode in Tap water. Will corrode in Salty water. Won't corrode in boiled water and oil. Won't corrode in Calcium Chloride and bung. Won't corrode in vaseline and water. Won't corrode in water and paint. Won't corrode in zinc and water.  

 Aim

To investigate factors that cause and prevent corrosion. 

Equipment

8 Test tubes, 2 test tube racks, 2 bungs, 8 iron nails, boiled water, tap water, vaseline gel, nail polish or paint, zinc pallets or magnesium ribbon, salty water, cooking oil, calcium chloride. 

Method

1: Label 8 test tubes A1 - D1 and A2 - D2

2: Fill test tubes A2 - D2 with enough water to cover the nails. 

3: Test tube A1 will have an iron nail and tap water. B1 has an iron nail and salty water. C1 has an iron nail and boiled water, oil. D1 will have an iron nail and calcium chloride; sealed with a bung. A2 has an iron nail. B2 An iron nail covered in vaseline. C2 An iron nail painted with nail polish or paint. D2 An iron nail with a small piece of magnesium ribbon wrapped around it, or with zinc pellets added to the test tube.

Results:

A1: Nothing happened.

B1: Rusted nail well.

C1: Rusted a little bit. 

D1: Nothing happened.

A2: Nothing happened.

B2: Nothing happened. 

C2: Rusted nail well.

D2: Nothing happened.

News article. (Social Studies)

 This is my news article about The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It talks about what and where it is along with causes, effects, and why this is an issue. The lungs are a very important part of a person, and the ocean is the earth's lungs, so it is very important.   

Impact of shark finning

 Shark finning is fishing for sharks. People fish for sharks and then cut the fins off and then use the fins for shark fin soup. Is it a delicacy because of the cost. The soup isn't meant to taste necessarily nice, it's meant to show a person's wealth. 

The impact of this causes the ocean food chain to collapse. Sharks are high on the food chain so if they die things lower than it will go out of sync and so will things above it. 

Reflection

 We had an assessment to do this week about our health and focuses on the future. We set ourselves goals to achieve in the future and manage progress over time. The importance of these goals is to help us improve our health. General goals can be achieved in more ways than a specific goal which can be helpful when it's a difficult topic/subject.  Specific goals have a very straightforward goal which may be easy or difficult and sometimes have a deadline. Our goals must align with our interests or needs. These may affect our choices or thought when it comes to making or achieving goals. We also had times to play a card game with some friends to calm us down and recenter which was very helpful to give us energy to spirit. 

Starfish poem ( Social Studies)

Starfish Poem

The main message of the poem is to show that little things make a difference. 

Evidence of this is in the last line of the poem saying that what the man did made a difference for that one. The man throwing the Starfish back in the ocean made a difference for not only the Starfish but the ocean even though its not a big impact.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

This is my short paragraph around the major issue surrounding the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It mentions the size of the issue. The amount of plastic, the area, and exactly how much it is on a recognizable scale. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is in the pacific ocean. It is an area where a lot of rubbish builds up. It is killing the ocean's wildlife which is important to the ecosystem of the ocean which keeps humans alive. People are contributing to collect the rubbish and scientists are doing experiments to figure out more about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.