Syllabus & Assignments

Course Explanation and Expectations

Topics on Sustainable Fisheries is a discussion course linked to the Bevan Series on Sustainable Fisheries, an international speaker series every Winter Quarter in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences.  During this course, we will be exploring marine conservation issues connected to natural resource exploitation and management.  This exploration will take two forms.

First, each speaker has provided us with selected readings, which are listed below and linked to on the course website.  We expect that you will have read each week’s readings IN ADVANCE of our discussion section, and the week’s seminar.  Class discussion will focus on the readings.  Because you will be graded on your participation in these discussions, it is wise not to slack off and attempt to fake your way through the conversation.  As we move through the quarter, our discussions may broaden to incorporate points and issues from previous speakers, as well as linked ideas and issues not strictly covered in the readings.  Be prepared to speak up!

Second, each speaker will present a public seminar which all students are required to attend.  After a brief introduction from a UW faculty member, the speaker will speak for 45-50 minutes.  Immediately following the seminar will be a question and answer period, allowing the audience (this includes you!) a chance to ask the speaker particular questions which occurred to them before or during the seminar. EACH OF YOU SHOULD COME TO THE SEMINAR PREPARED TO ASK QUESTIONS.  You should also bring a notebook with you so that you can TAKE NOTES as questions occur to you, and/or to record points of interest which you may wish to pursue further in the form of your paper.

Individual Paper

Within the first month of the quarter, you will all be required to choose a paper topic. This should be a subject covered by the readings, the speakers’ seminars, or something related to the former, which PARTICULARLY INTERESTS YOU.  This is important, because you will be spending quite a few hours tracking down articles and books on the subject, to provide you with the background reading material necessary to write your paper.  DON’T PANIC (too much) at this point.  We will be providing you with instructions for how to research and write the paper.  You will also have intermediate assignments designed to move you inexorably towards your paper:

• Topic/Issue – You will either write a review paper (general review of a subject within sustainable fisheries) or a case study paper (a specific examination of how an issue was dealt with in a particular place/situation), depending on your interests, and the subject.  A review paper allows you to explore an issue from many sides.  A case study paper allows you to compare and contrast to different places or organizations, and how they dealt with a particular problem.
• Bibliography – A minimum of 15 references, the majority of which will be peer-reviewed scholarly articles found in scientific journals such as Science, Conservation Biology, or Marine Biology.  Other acceptable references may be books or book chapters.  In some cases, additional reference material may include unpublished government reports or policy papers from non-governmental organizations; material from the Web, material from news sources such as a local or national paper.  These latter references MUST BE OKAYED by your instructor.  The bibliography assignment is designed to make you spend the research time finding out what is known about your topic.  With these articles under your belt, you will be well on the way to becoming an expert on the issue. Logistics of bibliography production will be provided in advance.  Please bring print-outs of the complete citation, and the abstract, for each reference.
• Annotated Bibliography – To organize the information in your references, you will need to extract the critical information.  To do this, create an annotated bibliography.  Start with the complete citation, then take essential outline-form notes.  You are only looking for the information that will be of interest and use to you in your paper, and writing notes to help you remember what is in that reference.  If there is a particularly good figure or table, write that down.  See the sample annotated bibliography.  Note that you should NOT write volumes; an annotated bibliography is short and informative.
• Paper Outline – All good writers start with an outline, and so will you.  All of your papers will have the same basic format: Introduction, Main Text Body in named sections as appropriate, Conclusion.  Within this vague format, each paper will vary depending on the topic chosen.  
• Expanded Outline - In order to organize your thoughts, you will need to write a detailed outline.  Under each section – what are the major and minor points you want to make.  What examples or concepts from the peer-reviewed literature will you use?  
• Draft Paper – Working from the outline, all good writers go through several drafts.  You will only be required to produce one rough draft.  The GREAT benefit of a draft, other than it forces you to start writing more than 48 hours before your paper is due, is that it gives you a chance to get constructive feedback on your writing AND on your content.  Trust me, this step WILL IMPROVE YOUR GRADE.  

Grading for the Paper

Your grade will be determined according to the following:

Participation* Bibliography Annotated Bibliography Paper Outline Expanded Outline Draft Paper Final Paper Total

50 15 20 20 25 50 200 320

*Including in our discussion class as well as asking at least one question after a seminar.

If you turn in assignments late, without checking in first or providing a legitimate excuse (e.g., doctor’s note), we will deduct 2% of the total assignment grade for each extra day – weekends count.

Schedule

Speaker names link to their seminar abstracts, bios, and required readings (listed at the bottom of each speaker page). Citations link to PDF files stored via the UW Libraries electronic reserve resource.

• 10 January: John Reynolds
• 17 January: Steve Gaines
• 24 January: James Ianelli
• 31 January: Steve Murawski
• 7 February: Laura Singer
• 14 February: Cathy Roheim
• 21 February: Jeremy Prince
• 28 February: Boris Worm
• 6 March: Pierre Freon
• 13 March: Phil Levin

Course Syllabus – FISH/ENVIR/BIOL 478 – Winter 2008

 

Week	Date	Speaker and Readings	Assignments Due	Assignments Returned
Week 1	January 10	John Reynolds Readings: Brooks et al. 2007, Dulvy et al. 2005, Reynolds et al. 2005, Reynolds 2003
Week 2	January 17	Steve Gaines Readings: Worm and Meyers 2003, Lester et al (In revision), Baskett et al. 2005, White et al. (In press)
Week 3	January 24	James Ianelli Readings: To be announced	Paper Topic/Issue
Week 4	January 31	Steve Murawski Readings: Francis et al. 2007, Murawski 2007		Final Approval of Paper Topic
Week 5	February 7	Laura Singer Readings: Hartley and Robinson 2006, Singer 2006, Hartley and Read 2005, Committee on Cooperative Research in NMFS 2003	Bibliography
Week 6	February 14	Cathy Roheim Readings: Roheim 2003, Roheim 2007, Jaquet and Pauly 2007, Knapp et al. 2007	Annotated Bibliography	Bibliography
Week 7	February 21	Jeremy Prince Readings:Prince et al. 1987, Prince 2003, Prince et al. (In prep)	Paper Outline	Annotated Bibliography
Week 8	February 28	Boris Worm Readings:Worm and Meyers 2003, Worm et al. 2005, Worm et al. 2006	Expanded Outline	Paper Outline
Week 9	March 6	Pierre Freon Readings: Freon et al. 2005, Cochrane et al. 1998, Beverton 1990, Freon et al. (In press)	Draft Paper	Expanded Outline
Week 10	March 13	Phil Levin Readings: To be announced		Draft Paper
Week 11	FINALS WEEK	NO CLASS Final Paper Due Thursday March 20th at 1:30pm	Final Paper Due