Sustainability and Sharks: Put it together

Watch this video about Vanishing Sharks.

While reading Disappearing Oceanic Sharks and Rays, highlight the causes and effects and think about how it connects to sustainability. 

How do we balance the needs of the ecosystem with the needs of the people. Work together with your table team to explore the one of the following current overfishing solutions being explored by conservationists and scientists (you will be assigned a topic.)

1. Establishing catch limits

2. Establishing marine protected areas

3. Ban trawling and implement new fishing methods that avoid bycatch

4. Monitoring fishing activities at sea (example: conduct stock assessments)

Use the information you find to complete the handout Evaluating Overfishing Solutions.

Suggested websites:

World Wildlife Fund

NOAA Fisheries (catch limits and monitoring)

Pew Trust (catch limits and monitoring)

NOAA Marine Protected Areas

National Geographic (marine protected areas)

Protected Planet (marine protected areas)

Green Peace (ban trawling)

Marine Conservation Society (ban trawling)

Reef Resilience Network (stock assessment)

This lesson was created by the WWF Wild Classroom and can be found at https://www.worldwildlife.org/teaching-resources