COASTAL SUSTAINABILITY WITHIN MARINE FISHERIES How can we engage stakeholders and partners to create an economically viable pathway to recycle end-of-life fishing gear, improve waste management, contribute to the circular economy, and reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions related to virgin plastic production?
Students in this project will embark on a journey to Cape Cod where they will learn about the current marine fishery and the waste that is being produced through lost or damaged fishing lines and nets. We will work with "Net Your Problem" to collect and organize lines and nets that have been washed up on shore and donated by local fishermen and women. We will also work with the organization to explore ways in which this waste can be reduced to produce less emissions and keep our oceans clean for the animals that inhabit it and the people that use it. Another aspect of this project will be to look into ways that the damaged lines and nets can be recycled into usable products that can be turned back into the market for future enjoyment.
Hello everyone and welcome to Project Week 2024! At 9:00am Monday March 4th our group met to kick the week off in Mr. Churchill’s classroom to watch the movie Finestkind, a movie based in New Bedford, Massachusetts right in the Harbor where we will be working later in the week! The movie gave the group a great idea on what the commercial fishing industry is like and the extents that those people will go for family and money.
A great watch for anyone wanting to learn about New England fishing! After the movie, students had from 11-1 to relax, pack and get ready for our 1:00pm departure for Cape Cod. The 3 hour car ride was full of sleeping, laughter and excitement. We arrived at our hotel at 4:15pm and had time to check in, relax and explore. At 6:00pm students met with Katelyn and Chris Townsend to grab dinner across the street at the Knack and learn about Katelyn’s contributions in recycling and conservation towards the commercial lobster industry that Chris actively has participated in. Later students enjoyed the indoor pool and hot tub and debriefed after a long day of travel and checked in and got to sleep at 10:30 to be well rested for day one of work.
DAY 3 (3/6/24). Today is the third day of project week. Inside this project, our project is the coastal sustainability within marine fisheries. In the morning, we went to the New Bedford Whaling Museum. We know something about the culture of whaling and the problem that whaling is facing. So plastic pollution become a huge part of today, whale usually been stuck in the sea by some plastic net. These net usually hard, so the whale will got dangerous by the net. According to this, in the afternoon we go to meet with Net your problem facility. We learn some basic knowledge to separate different kinds of plastics. We know the fishing net are made by several different materials. Also we learn about the job they do in the no fishing season.
Today the group woke up and left the hotel at 8:30. We got breakfast at tropical smoothie then headed over to the Cape Cod Canal channel. We split into two groups, one half doing a boat tour of the canal while the other half was learning more about the history of the canal. On the boat tour we got to see the ins and outs of the canal, we learned more about the way boats transport cargo through the canal. We learned how the bridges were constructed and how trains are able to navigate from one end to the other. The boat tour gave an in person depiction of what we were being taught about in the classroom. A park ranger taught us about the history of the canal. We learned originally that it was meant to be a privately owned canal, however that was not successful. The United States later bought the canal and renovated it to be deeper and wider. We learned more about the conservation and how the protect whales as they pass through the canal. We learned a lot about how important the canal is to the movement of goods. Water transports the best way to move things. After, both groups completed the activities we headed over to Shake Shack and ate lunch. We worked on our business plans and ideas in the car and collaborated at lunch. It was a great way to end project week!