The global trend of fisheries overexploitation and collapse has resulted in the need to reduce fishing effort, and providing alternative employment for fishermen is a frequently mentioned policy option in order to achieve this goal. Reducing fishing effort is central to the European Commission Common Fisheries Policy and over the years, the…

Sustainable management of marine resources raises great challenges. Working with this socio-scientific issue in the classroom requires students to apply complex models about energy flow and trophic pyramids in order to understand that food chains represent transfer of energy, to construct meanings for sustainable resources management through…

Flowering plants that live underwater in marine and estuarine habitats (seagrasses) are important because they support human food sources, such as crabs and fish, as well as endangered animals, such as turtles and manatees. Seagrasses are now known to be declining globally, largely as a result of increasing pressure from human populations living…

The Marine Education Society of Australasia (MESA) Inc. is a national organisation of marine educators that aims to bring together people interested in the study and enjoyment of coastal and marine environments. MESA representatives and members organise education and interpretation activities in support of schools and communities during a number…

This inquiry-based activity provides a real-world example that connects to students' everyday seafood choices. In fact, many students went home and insisted to their parents that they should only buy "green" seafood choices. It was also an effective activity because students were able to use what they learned about ocean ecosystems and…

The ocean provides humanity with many services and goods, including clean air, minerals, and food. Sustainable use and management of our marine resources are important to ensure that these resources are available for future generations. The turn-based activity presented in this article teaches students the challenges of managing a sustainable…

Those advocating for effective management of the use of coastal areas and ecosystems have long aspired for an approach to governance that includes information systems with the capability to predict the end results of various courses of action, monitor the impacts of decisions and compare results with those predicted by computer models in order to…

In this article Susan Gebbels and Stewart M. Evans from Newcastle University and Lynne A. Murphy who is a practising school teacher in north-east England discuss how they worked collaboratively on a programme of science education with a group of 16 Key Stage 3 pupils with moderate learning difficulties. The project lasted for one academic year and…

The Ocean, Reefs, Aquariums, Literacy, and Stewardship (CORALS) research program helps students connect global environmental issues to local concerns and personal choices. During the 18-week program, students strengthen their understanding of coral reef decline through a classroom aquarium activity, communicate with science experts, and create…

The "Project WILD Aquatic K-12 Curriculum and Activity Guide" emphasizes aquatic wildlife and aquatic ecosystems. It is organized in topic units and is based on the Project WILD conceptual framework. Because these activities are designed for integration into existing courses of study, instructors may use one or many Project WILD Aquatic activities…

Global shark populations are seriously declining and many species are now threatened by anthropogenic stresses. Their extinction would cause devastating consequences to the marine biodiversity and ecosystems. However some children describe the sharks as bad guys, "we should kill them all!" Such children's view motivates my study…

There is a clear relationship between the way understand a phenomenon and how we act about it, and this is especially important when working with environmental subjects. Environmental problems are often abstract or imperceptible to students and for this reason difficult to understand. This article is part of a more detailed study on how trainee…

The process of coral island formation is often difficult for middle school students to comprehend. Coral island formation is a dynamic process, and students should have the opportunity to experience this process in a synergistic context. The authors provide instructional guidelines for constructing a coral island. Students play an interactive role…

The ocean is the dominant feature on this planet that makes all life on Earth possible. Marine educators and scientists across the country have identified essential principles and concepts that define what an "ocean literate" person should know, but there is a lack of comprehensive ocean content coverage in secondary classrooms across…

Managing fish resources in the ocean, known as marine fisheries management, often involves disagreement among many groups of people: commercial fishers, recreational anglers, national and local conservationists, and several branches of government. While managing marine fisheries in federal waters, the federal government must rebuild marine fish…