This unit is designed to expose students to the diversity of views about the state of the marine environment and the impact of extractive industries such as fishing. Students will gain experience exploring relevant questions using a variety of methodological approaches to assess the state of global fisheries, impact of fishing down the marine food web, whether super trawlers should operate in state waters, and the benefits of marine protected areas. Students will be challenged by presentations from experts with differing views and gain experience in sifting through the types of information, evidence, techniques that are being used to confront challenges with marine resource management locally, nationally and globally. Students will be expected to be able to mount a testable, information-based argument for a range of positions on important marine resource issues.

Debate on marine resource issues happens continually. Globally scientists argue over whether most fish stocks are dangerously close to collapse or whether they are fine and being quickly recovered by effective management. Some scientists want to protect marine biodiversity and future fisheries production by rapidly increasing the global coverage of no-take marine protected areas while others consider this grossly misguided citing that future food security and the economies of small island nations requires active fisheries free from outside interference. Those that have been in Tasmania over recent years could hardly have missed the loud debate over the use of a ‘supertrawler’ to harvest small pelagic fish from local waters. What factors led to the invitation for this vessel to come and what arguments were used to force it to leave? What can be learned from this process? “In The End, We Will Conserve Only What We Love, Love Only What We Understand, Understand only What We Are Taught.” Baba Dioum 1968