| April
2003 --
Adopt-A-Boat "South" program
is started at Barnegat Light
(from
Garden
State Seafood Association)
The scallop vessel
Kathy Ann, owned by Jim Gutowski and John Larson and captained
by Richie Skon, has been "adopted" by a class of
5th graders in a Mercer County school district. At his first
meeting with the class, Captain Skon talked with the animated
5th graders for almost an hour. He started out by describing
the fishery and some of the stringent regulations he had to
comply with, then asked for questions. Anyone who's had the
pleasure of spending time with children of this age will appreciate
the wide range of subjects he then had to deal with; everything
from "what's the strangest thing you've ever caught?"
to "how much do you get paid?" Needless to say,
a number of questions dealt with sharks and other dangerous
denizens of the deep. The children will follow the Kathy Ann's
progress on a navigation chart and will be provided regular
emailed updates via Boatracs (a satellite communications/tracking
system available on all full-time sea scallop vessels).
The program, which was inspired by a successful Massachusetts
Institute of Technology Sea Grant program, is aimed at providing
the children with some understanding of the lives of commercial
fishermen, an appreciation of what is involved in getting
seafood from the ocean floor to the supermarket or restaurant,
and the beginnings of an understand of the basic biology of
our coastal waters. A website which will detail the program
as it develops can be reached through the "Adopt a boat"
link on the NJ Fishing
website.
|
Richie
Skon, Captain of the Kathy Ann, talks about commercial fishing
and life at sea with the 5th grade class
|
| Adopt-a-Boat
and the partnership of Mike Russo of Chatham and the Decas
Elementary School in Wareham were featured in the Cape Cod
Times on March 5, 2003. This article has spurred a fisherman
to call today to sign up. Read
the article (.pdf file)!
Houlton
Elementary School takes an Attitudes of Commercial Fishing
survey. Check
out the survey!
O'Maley
Middle School teachers and Adopt-a-Boat coordinator Brandy
Moran go fishing with Capt. Bob Anderson.
Check
out video clips from their trip!
2002-2003
Partnerships Map
Check out an interactive map of Adopt-a-Boat partnerships.
Check
out the "Classrooms" section
as classroom projects are updated regularly. Below are some
examples:
*Check
out the project summary of Eva Hoyt Zippel School which
includes Adopt-a-Boat math problems, an article written
about the classroom and their Adopt-a-Boat experience, and
questions to and answers from their boat captain.
*Check
out the project summary of Cohasset High school which includes
letters to Capt. Bob Healy.
Photos from
Boats!
F/V Glenna and Jacob. Captain Bob Kohl
F/V Striker. Captain Mattie Thomson
Adopt-a-Boat kick-off meeting held on September 23, 2002
More info |
|
