fishery biology

Your Final Project will be to choose a fish species and write a ‘Case Study’. This case study will outline the Status of the fish, the (Socio)Economic Impact of the fish, the Environmental Impact of the fish, and your own Assessment of the likelihood of the Fish’s Population Stability and what must be done to Manage the Species

Below, are steps that you must follow in preparing and completing your Paper, requirements for the Project, and a grading Rubric.

1.    Choose a Fish Species – this is perhaps the most important or challenging aspect of the project. There are quite a few species that would be ‘easy to choose’ because of the volume of literature on the fish (e.g., tuna, red snapper, red drum, etc.). However, I encourage each of you to find species that are less well-studied. In grading this assignment, I will give added weight to those students who choose a less well-known species (i.e., I will not expect the same depth of knowledge and detail as those who choose a ‘popular species’, like tuna, with thousands and thousands of available resources). I will not ‘dock’ or think poorly of a person who chooses a ‘well-managed’ species with a healthy population; it is a challenge to maintain such species.

2.    Prepare Sections of your Paper – you are NOT limited to the sections or questions outlined below; however, each section outlined below must appear in some form within your paper.
a.    Status of Fish – What are the historical and current populations of the fish? Why does it need to be managed (why do people fish for this species)?
b.    (Socio)Economic Impact of the Fish – What are the economic and, possibly, social benefits of the fish? What are the consequences to the local, national, or international economy(ies) of fluctuations (or reductions/increases) in the fish’s population? How do any economic or social impacts affect governmental or political considerations/conditions?
c.    Environmental Impact of the Fish – What type of ecological communities are affected by the fish? What type of ecological communities does this fish live in? How do fluctuations (or reductions/increases) in the fish’s population affect the ecological community?
d.    Species Assessment – Conclude your paper with the current status of the species, as well as any future plans for its management or stocking. In this section, I will be looking specifically for how you have integrated the knowledge from your cited sources. You should demonstrate that you have reached conclusions based on joining together information, not only what another group or person concluded.

3.    Citations – You must include a minimum of 5, maximum of 10, citable resources. A maximum of 2 resources can be ‘only web-based’ (i.e., consist of only a http web page, with no associated White Paper, Technical Report, etc.). You must use APA citation style in your Citation section. Appropriate Resources include primary journal articles, review journal articles, government reports, technical reports, species assessments by local, regional or (inter)national bodies. If you have a question about whether your source is a ‘good one’, just send me the material and I’ll be happy to have a look .

4.    Length and Style
a.    Title, your name, course name (bold, centered, top of first page)
b.    Appropriate Citations are Used
c.    Minimum of 5 pages long (8”x11.5”), maximum of 7. This included citations.
d.    Margins are 1” on Top, Bottom, Left, Right (no exceptions)
e.    Font is Arial, 11pt (no exceptions)
f.    Double-spaced (all lines, no exceptions)
g.    All Genus species names are italicized, as in Thunnus albacares

5.    Rubric

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