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Can Fisheries be Sustainable?       The topic of our environment not being as diverse and as beautiful for our future generations is one that is close to me. Throughout my childhood I would spend part of everyday outdoors exploring in the woods. Nature holds a very special place in my life. As I grew older, I began to have an increasing interest in aquatic organisms as well as the entire ecosystem surrounding them. This first year experience class was the one that most interested me because it discusses the major issues around the worlds oceans. I have fished ever since I was around 5 years old and have always released them after I catch them. A main topic that was covered throughout this class was how unsustainable some fisheries can be. Some cultures, like in Asia, contribute to the death of 100 million sharks each year. When it comes to this worldwide crisis of the decrease in certain species of fish, there are minimal solutions. As we discussed the possible solutio...
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South Carolina Aquarium Visit As I first walked into the South Carolina Aquarium, the first thing to pop out at you is a small fish tank with some deep water species of fish. As I continued walking through the aquarium the species of aquatic and land organisms became more and more diverse. The species at this aquarium ranged from snakes, to birds, to jellyfish. There is no doubt in my mind that this aquarium is home to various species that have either become injured in some way, or are there for more research to better understand how to conserve the species. For example, the first animal you see when you go up the escalator is a North American Bald Eagle. The only reason this beautiful animal is being held in captivity is because it was injured and the South Carolina Aquarium makes sure to take good care of it and treat it with love and care. Aquariums like this one play a crucial role in helping people understand how they can protect and conserve animals and their natural habit...
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Managing the Worlds Fisheries

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How to Manage and Observe Fisheries       Phil Gwinnell is a biologist who has had previous experience in observing fishing boats in Alaska.  Observer  candidates should have a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with a major in one of the natural sciences with at least 30 hours in biological sciences, including a combination of marine science and  fisheries  course work. While taking his notes of the fish caught by the crew he was observing, he had to jot down any by-catch or anything that was not supposed to be caught, even if the fishermen threw it back into the ocean, which they are not supposed to do. There was a lot of by-catch that he observed which is a negative sign of a fishery because a sustainable fishery should only catch the targeted fish. The type of fishing technique used in the Alaska fisheries was the long lining technique as well as the bottom trawling technique. These observers are treated like ...
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Historic Fossils from the Mace Brown Museum

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Today I visited the Mace Brown Museum. When you first walk in you are surrounded by historic creatures that have now been extinct for over millions of years. Armored fishes existed  approximately 492-369 million years ago. There are two types of armored fishes, the ostracoderms and placoderms. Ostracoderms means “shelled-skin” and were found in early Devonian-age freshwater deposits in Europe. Placoderm means “plated skin” and were mostly found in freshwater deposits, but sometimes found in marine deposits. Placoderms had articulated armor plates that covered their head and thorax.  The Dunkleosteus was the largest and fiercest of the placoderms. They reached lengths of 33 feet and weighed up to four tons. They were the top carnivores of their time. Dunkleosteus did not have teeth, instead they had two pairs of razor sharp bony plates, similar looking to a snapping turtle. The two gnathal plates sharpened  themselves as they rubbed one another and grew continually ...
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