How does seafood get to your plate?
Grades: 6 - College
Overview
Through role-playing, teamwork, and a little fate, this activity provides students with an opportunity to get an "insider's" view of what it takes to be an active stakeholder in a commercial fishery.
Whether a boat owner, dockside buyer, processing plant owner, distributor, or retail seafood store operator, each student will get a deeper sense of the complex factors that determine the viability of a commercial fishery.
Students will learn to understand the real costs that contribute to eventual market value, as well as experience some of the unanticipated gains or losses that can occur at any stage along the way.
Skills/Outcomes:
- Students will learn how to analyze various costs/benefits associated with a particular fishery and will understand the various roles performed by stakeholders of that fishery.
- Students will learn how to calculate estimated revenues and expenses using data from a chart.
- Students will learn to evaluate real-world options and challenges related to a particular fishery.
- Students will be able to apply critical thinking and problem solving skills to their analysis of various stakeholder terms and transactions.
Time: 50 minutes
Education Standards
National |
Science: NS.9-12.1 Science as Inquiry. NS.9-12.6 Personal and Social Perspectives: population growth, natural resources, environmental quality. Math: NM-NUM.9-12.3 Number and Operations: compute fluently and make reasonable estimates. NM-PROB.PK-12.1-12.4 Problem-solving: solve problems that arise in mathematical and in other contexts; apply and adapt a variety of appropriate strategies to solve problems. NM-PROB.CONN.PK-12.3 Connections: recognize and apply mathematics in contexts outside of mathematics. Economics: NSS-EC.9-12.2 Marginal Cost/Benefit. NSS-EC.9-12.8 Role of Price in Market System. NSS-EC.9-12.11 Role of Money. |
|---|---|
California |
Math: Algebra I (3.0) Students solve equations and inequalities involving absolute values. Algebra I (5.0) Students solve multi-step problems, including word problems, involving linear equations and linear inequalities in one variable and provide justification for each step. Algebra I (10.0) Students add, subtract, multiply, and divide. Students solve multi-step problems, including word problems, by using these techniques. Economics: Grade 12, (12.1) Students understand common economic terms and concepts and economic reasoning. |
Ocean Literacy |
6. The ocean and humans are inextricably interconnected (b, c, e, g). |
Activity Guide & Powerpoint
Activity Guide (pdf 11.9 MB)
Printable Materials
Multiple Content Areas
Income/Expense Worksheet (pdf 500 KB)
Income/Expense Answer Key (pdf 3.7 MB)
Economics Class
Online Resources
- Litpon, Douglas. 2004. Understanding Fish Pricing: From Production to the Table. Maryland Sea Grant Extension. College Park, MD.
- Pomeroy, Carrie and Michael Dalton. 2005. Market Channels and Value Added to Fish Landed at Monterey Area Ports (pdf). California Sea Grant College Program. San Diego, CA.
- Pomeroy, Carrie and Michael Dalton. 2003. Socio-Economics of the Moss Landing Commercial Fishing Industry. Report to the Monterey County Office of Economic Development.
- Starr, Richard M., Jason M. Cope, and Lisa A. Kerr. 2002. Trends in Fisheries and Fishery Resources. California Sea Grant College Program. La Jolla, CA.
Evaluations
Teacher Evaluation (fillable pdf 220 KB)