Process Log Entry: 2/16 2/20

Goals From Last Week

Last week I had to practice my 8 12 minute speech. I did this by typing out in the notes section
of my phone what topic I needed to cover. I then added pictures to my PowerPoint to correlate
with the topics. Finally, I wrote out on index cards all of the main topics I needed to discuss.
Then, I rehearsed in my mirror and to several friends, and the presentation went well. I also
decided that I was only going to talk about hand nets, gill nets, cast nets, and trawling during my
speech so that I wouldnt run over time. I also did research the ethical concerns of dealing with
fish (described in research section).

Mentor

This week I didnt talk to my mentor because I was practicing my speech so I didnt have any
new information to tell her. However, once I come up with the costs for the materials and where I
am going to get them from, I will inform my mentor.

Research

During my speech I talked about my research question, why I chose my topic, overfishing, blast
fishing, bycatch, discard, hypoxia, mineral extraction, the Law of the Sea, conservation groups,
coral reefs, lionfish and my product.
Coral reefs are the most diverse ecosystem on the planet and take up about the size of France. 17
million tons of fish are being dumped back into the ocean each year. The fish are also being
caught so quickly that they cannot reproduce quick enough to replenish their species, so they are
dying out.
There are many ethical concerns about testing products on animals, because animals can only be
tested on if there is no way to test the product on a human or if there is only very minimal harm
done to the animals. Out of all the animals that are tested, fish testing is used by about 10% of
scientists.

Type of Net
Hand Net (top choice)

Cast Net (close top choice)

Strengths
Small, easy for me to make,
good for small catches, can
catch eels as well as fish, do
not damage coral reefs or
seafloors when in use (if not
lost)
Stay in close contact with the

Weaknesses
Cant be used to catch fish on
a large scale, would only
affect local fishermen and not
large fisheries out at sea
where most ghost fishing
occurs
If the net gets forgotten then

Coracle Fishing

fishermen so they dont get

lost, larger than a hand net,
use weights to keep the fish
down
Men actively work together
to catch the fish so there is no
ghost fishing

Gill Nets

Easily trap target fish, made

with a single piece of netting,
size and material are variable

Trawls

Catch large amounts of fish

quickly

Monofilament

Common in the U.S, stiff and

stable, works well in clear
waters, cheap to make

Multi-filament

Catches fish easier, limp,

thin, works well with baitcasting (such as cast nests),

Type of Material
Sea Grass

Strengths
Natural, if discarded in the
ocean, will naturally
decompose or herbivores can
eat
Durable, easy to find and
mass produce

Thread/rope

Hemp

Strong and durable, can be

eaten as food, hemp rope is
available, can be disposed
and used as fuel,

the fish is trapped, sink down

to catch fish so catching takes
longer
Requires men to have a boat
and some form of physical
strength, I cant change this
type of fishing to benefit the
environment because it uses
physical strength rather than a
net being thrown and lost
Trap fish by trapping their
gills (unsettling way to catch
fish, dislike), non-target fish
can easily get stuck in the net
and injured, not a good way
to stop bycatch or ghost
fishing
Horrible for the environment!
, destroy everything in path
including fragile coral reefs,
tear apart seafloor
Made of plastic which never
goes away, can choke and
wound marine mammals if
lost
Little information, harder to
tie knots, very expensive,
twigs and sticks get caught in
this type of netting
Weaknesses
Flimsy, takes away from
marine environments, cant
mass produce
Not natural, harmful if lost in
the ocean, could cut or wound
marine animals
Controversial because used to
grow marijuana (may be hard
to find), hemp plants are
vulnerable to disease, *illegal

environmentally friendly

to grow in the U.S.*

Hemp rope that I have researched has been costing about $12.50 for a large amount of rope as in
a couple of feet and sea grass has similar costs. So I would need about $25 or $50 in case theres
not enough or I mess up the net the first time.

Goals for Next Week

I have a deadline on Monday, so I will have to get my materials together for that. However, I will
have to explain that I extremely underestimated how long it would take me to get the materials
for the net especially because I didnt realize that I would have to order them. Also, making a net
is more complicated than just watching a few how-to videos so I also have to explain that I
underestimated the amount of effort it would take to create the net.