Our focus in term 2 will be on marine ecosystems and the commercial fishing industry. We will learn how recreational and commercial fishing is regulated in New Zealand to maintain fish stocks, and discuss the advantages and disadvantages to this approach, as well as potential alternatives.
One such alternative is aquaculture, and we will specifically look at farming salmon. Some salmon have been artificially selected through breeding programs for this purpose, whilst others have been genetically modified to grow faster.
There are two internal assessments available, worth 3 credits each, and you may choose to complete either or both. The first is a socio-scientific issue which requires you to refine a question surrounding fishing or aquaculture and explore viewpoints both for and against your question based on biological and socio-cultural effects. It is assessed via milestones with a final report and presentation due early in Term 3. The second assessment is a report comparing and contrasting selective breeding with transgenesis based on salmon. It is due at the end of Term 2.