Activity 3: Helping the Fisher’s Association

Method:

Students work in pairs and fill out an activity sheet on the fishing situation in San Buenaventura. Groups share ideas, and as a class develop a project on aquaculture to help compensate for the decline of the fish stocks in the Beni River.

Time Required:

60-75 minutes

Materials:

Drawing materials
Chart paper
Fishing situation in San Buenaventura
Maximo's family and home on Lake Titicaca – on-line photo journal

References:

World Fisheries Trust
CIDA

Procedure:

1. The students meet with their guide, Marcos, one last time before going back to Canada. They find out about the fishing situation in San Buenaventura and they have a chance to go on a fishing expedition with Dilma and other fishers. They are asked to develop an idea for a project to help the fishers’ association. The plan is to be presented to World Fisheries Trust after the students come back to Canada.

2. Have the students work in pairs. Hand out to each pair the sheet entitled “Fishing situation in San Buenaventura”. Also have the pictures that the students took while in San Buenaventura (Maximo's family and home on Lake Titicaca) available on a projection screen (if available).

3. Using both the text and the pictures, have each group produce a diagram or drawing of the artesanal fishing techniques that they observed while on the fishing expedition. Around the drawing they list the main obstacles to sustainable fishing as told by Marcos.

4. Then have each pair meet another pair. They share their drawings and discuss a plan of action to help the fishers’ association. Explain that the association would like to do some aquaculture to help compensate for the decline of the fish stocks in the Beni River. Have them write their main ideas in big letters on chart paper. Explain that the whole class will come up with a project following the initial discussions in smaller groups. The project will be submitted to World fisheries Trust, an NGO based in Victoria, British Columbia as well as CIDA as a possible source of funding.

5. Have each group present their ideas and develop a class project on aquaculture to be submitted to WFT.