Activity 5 - Fishing for the Future

Adapted from Facing the Future's activity "Fishing for the Future", in Engaging Students Through Global Issues: Activity-Based Lessons and Action Projects, 2006. www.facingthefuture.org. Used by permission.

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Purpose:  Through a fishing simulation, students will experience the "tragedy of the commons"¹ as it relates to a commercial fishery and will explore the social, environmental and economic impacts of overfishing.

 

Outcomes:  Students will be able to identify how technology, population growth, sustainable practices and the reproductive biology of lake trout can impact fish catch and fisheries management in the Great Lakes.

 

Subject: Science, Biology (Ecology), Social Studies, Geography, Economics, Mathematics

 

Group size:  20 - 30

 

Site:  Indoor

 

Time: 1 hour

 

Supplies:

 

• • Plain M&Ms, one 14-ounce bag for up to 30 students
  • Peanut M&Ms², one 14-ounce bag for up to 30 students
  • Small cups, 1 per student
  • Serving bowls, medium size, 1 per group
  • Spoons, 1 per group
  • Straws, 1 per student
  • Watch, for timing activity
  • Reading assignment from Activity 1:  Lake Trout: a Cautionary Tale (Intermediate/senior reading level), 1 per student
  • Handout Fishery Facts, 1 per student
  • Handout Fishing Log, 1 per student
  • Handout Lifecycle Worksheet and the factsheet on Fish Reproductive Strategies, 1 per student (Optional extension activity)

 

 

Before the activity: 

• • Copy worksheets.
  • Check for peanut allergies in your class. You can do the activity substituting Smarties² if necessary.
  • Divide the class up into 5 groups. Each group will represent one of the five Great Lakes (i.e., Erie, Huron, Michigan, Ontario and Superior). Each group will start with 20 plain and 10 peanut M&Ms. Count out the first round of M&Ms and place them in cups or bags.
  • As a post-activity reference, copy the handouts Fishery Facts and Lake Trout: A Cautionary Tale.

 

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¹  The "tragedy of the commons" occurs when resources—such as the water we drink, and the fish we eat—shared by everyone (or held in common) are used at a rate that exceeds the resources' sustainable limit. Ultimately, as population grows and consumption increases, the "commons" collapse. The phrase was first coined by Garrett Hardin in 1968, www.garretthardinsociety.org/index.html.

²  If peanut allergies are a concern, substitute Smarties for the plain and peanut M&Ms. Nestle offers a type of Smarties that is made in a peanut-free facility (be sure to check the label). Designate a specific colour of Smarties, e.g., blue, to represent the larger, more valuable commercial lake trout.

 

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A QUICK LOOK

 

In this activity, students will use M&Ms, straws and cups in groups to simulate a commercial lake trout fishery in each of the Great Lakes. As students progress through the fishing seasons, they will likely overfish their lake and will have to migrate to another Great Lake to meet their basic needs. Most groups will eventually create a total crash of fish stocks in all of the Great Lakes. This demonstration will illustrate the value of sustainable fisheries management in the province of Ontario.

 

BACKGROUND

Garrett Hardin coined the phrase "tragedy of the commons" in 1968. Hardin describes cows grazing on a common land. Since there is no direct cost to using the land, individual ranchers are motivated to add to their herds in order to increase their personal wealth. But each added animal damages the pasture a small, perhaps imperceptible, amount. Ultimately, this gradual degradation destroys the commons. Each rancher acting alone is behaving in an appropriate, rational manner, yet the sum total of all the ranchers' actions destroys the resource for them all.

 

From 1950 to 1990, there was a fivefold increase in the world annual fish catch. An increasing demand for fish coupled with environmentally damaging fishing practices are leading to another tragedy of the commons. Roughly 70 percent of the planet's marine stocks are fully or over-exploited, according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program.

 

READY, SET, GO!

 

Part A:

 

1. First, ask the class if anyone has heard of the term "sustainability". Ask the class to describe what they think it means.

 

Sustainability is meeting the needs of the present without limiting the ability of people, other species, and future generations to meet their needs in a similar manner.

 

Ask why sustainability might be an important goal for a society and what might be difficult about realizing this goal.

 

2. Tell students that today they're going to go fishing and explore some of these sustainability issues.

 

3.  Explain the game rules:

• •  Each student will be a "fisher" whose livelihood depends on catching fish, specifically lake trout.
  •  Peanut M&Ms represent mature adult lake trout (i.e., > 7 years old for females)
  •  Plain M&Ms represent younger, smaller lake trout
  •  Each fisher must catch at least two fish (large or small) in each round to survive (i.e., get enough fish to either eat or sell).
  •  When the fishing begins, students must hold their hands behind their backs and use the "fishing rod" (straw) to suck "fish" (M&Ms) from the "lake" (bowl) and deposit them into their "boat" (cup).
  • The fish remaining in the lake after each fishing season represent the breeding population, and thus one new fish will be added for every large fish left in the lake (bowl), and one new fish will be added for every three smaller fish left in the lake. (This is intended to demonstrate the consequences of over-fishing all the larger, reproductively mature trout, but don't tell the students that).

 

4. Divide the class into five groups of three to six students each, depending on the size of the class.

 

5. Have each group choose a Great Lake they'd like to represent.

 

6. Give each group one serving bowl and each student one cup, one straw, and one copy of the handout Fishing Log. Be sure to allow for enough space both between students, and between students and the bowl within each group so that no one gets hurt.

 

7. Put 20 plain and 10 peanut M&Ms in each group's bowl (numbers can be adjusted to accommodate class size).

 

8. Say "start fishing!" and give the students 20 seconds for the first "season" of fishing.

 

9. Have each fisher count his or her catch (M&Ms in their cup) and record the data in their Fishing Log.

 

10. Fishers who did not catch the two-fish minimum must sit out for the following round.

 

11. Add one new fish for every peanut M&M (larger lake trout) left in the lake (bowl), and add one new fish for every three plain M&Ms left in the lake (bowl). Do this for the first and second rounds only.

 

12. Allow fishers to use their hands on the straws during the second session to represent "new technology".

 

13. After the second fishing season, give one fisher from each group a spoon representing more new fishing technology such as trawl nets, sonar equipment, etc. Continue the game for round three.

 

14. Ask, "What happened when Great Lake [name] ran out of fish? How are the fishers going to survive now?" (One option is to move to another Great Lake.) Allow students to "invade" other Great Lake groups when their lake is depleted, but don't tell them that they can do this beforehand. Fishers may either go as a group to another lake or they may disperse to other lake.

 

15. Repeat fishing, recording and replenishing fish stocks until all (or most) groups fish out their lake.

 

 

Part B:

 

1. Use the following sample questions to lead a discussion about the activity:

 

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  • How did you feel when you realized that you had depleted your fish stock?
  • What did you notice about the replacement rates of the large lake trout (peanut M&Ms) compared to the smaller lake trout (plain M&Ms)? 
• • • Large lake trout were replenished on a 1:1 basis while the smaller lake trout were replaced on a 1:3 basis.
    • Why do you think this was? Because lake trout don’t reach reproductive maturity until the age of 5 for males or 7 for females. So for every fish over 5-7 years of age that gets fished out of the Great Lakes, the population is less able to replenish itself through natural reproduction. 
• • How did you feel when other fishers joined your Great Lake group?
  • How does this activity relate to real ocean and lake fishery issues?
  • What's missing in this game? (Impacts to non-human animals that rely on fish for their survival, impacts on the aquatic food web, etc.)
  • What happens to a resource when you have an increasing human population, growing technology and a finite resource?
  • Are there any commonly owned resources in our region or community? If so, what are some similar issues around them, and how can they best be managed? (Air is a commonly used resource—how do we deal with air pollution? Forestry or animal grazing rights also sometimes create similar discussions. You might also talk about city, national parks and other public lands, and the competing uses and needs.)

 

2. Ask the students to read Fishery Facts and Lake Trout: A Cautionary Tale. Then ask the students to brainstorm ways to have a sustainable fishery. What rules could be developed? (For example, limits on type of equipment allowed, amount and type of fish, shorter seasons, licensing and regulations).

 

3. Ask students to write, draw, or chart an explanation of factors that affect management of fish populations, and identify the goals of sustainable fisheries. (Responses should reflect such factors as technology, environmental conditions, reproductive maturity of fish species, market prices and consumer choices).

 

OPTIONAL EXTENSIONS

 

1. Students can learn more about the lifecycle and spawning habitat of lake trout, or other Great Lakes fish by conducting research at home using the Internet and completing the Lifecycle Worksheet for their chosen fish species.

 

2. Have students do a free-write on the following quote by John C. Sawhill, relating it to the fishing activity: "In the end, our society will be defined not only by what we create, but by what we refuse to destroy." (John Sawhill is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of The Nature Conservancy.)

 

3. Read Garrett Hardin's essay "The Tragedy of the Commons" and discuss how it is reflected in this game. For a downloadable version, go to
www.garretthardinsociety.org/articles/art_tragedy_of_the_commons.html.

 

4. Repeat the activity after the class has experienced the "tragedy of the commons" and discuss sustainable practices to see if they can harvest in a sustainable manner.

 

5. Students can research which fish are harvested in a sustainable manner and which are being depleted. Have them do an advertising campaign in their school promoting the consumption of sustainable fish and avoiding the consumption of threatened fish. (This might include researching the kind of fish served in your school cafeteria, developing a system that protects threatened fish, and presenting it to your cafeteria staff, principal and school board.) For recommendations about which seafood to buy or avoid, check out the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s website "Seafood Watch" or the Audubon website "What’s a Fish Lover to Eat?".

 

6. Have students investigate fish farming and its environmental and economic impacts.

 

7. Have students research laws, regulations, and other initiatives in the province of Ontario relating to the wise use and conservation of fish stocks (http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/LetsFish/index.html).

 

8. Participate in a beach or river cleanup project.