Fish identification course for fisheries law enforcement officers:
Communicating scientific principles and methods where none existed
Ofer Gon, Gavin Gouws and Monica Mwale
South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, Private Bag 1015,
Grahamstown 6140, South Africa
The Learners
DEAT fisheries law enforcement officers Age group: 23-39 Education: Matric certificate with little or no knowledge of biology
Job description – Why do the course?
Enforcing fishing regulations (Marine Living Resource Act) through:
1. beach patrols
2. Boat inspections Testifying in court cases of illegal fishers
and poachersMust be able to identify the
fishes and defend the identification in court
Course objectives Learning the different parts (morphology) of the body of the fish Learning to take counts and measurements from a fish specimens and how they are used
Fish Morphology
Course objectives
Understanding certain concepts, eg, scientific names, classification
Argyrosomus japonicus
Carcharias taurus
ClassificationFamily: Sciaenidae
Genus: Argyrosomus
Species: japonicus
Scientific Names
Course objectives Learning about and using identification keys – Biological similarity
Course programme
Tour of SAIAB and the fish collection Internet and library resources Fish morphology and its methodology Working with specimens - practical
Day 1
Course programme
The marine environment Fish systematics (names and classification) Identification keys and how they work Fish identification - practical
Day 2
Course programme
The coelacanth story Fish identification – practical Practical test
Days 3 & 4
Questionnaire resultsClass 1 (n=10) Class 2 (n=8) Class 3 (n=8) Class 4 (n=9) Total %
Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No
Met expectations 8 1 7 1 8 7 2 88.2 11.8
Objectives achieved 9 1 8 8 9 97.1 2.9
Lectures, etc. relevant to course 9 1 8 8 8 1 94.3 5.7
Contents relevant 10 100
Understanding of concepts 9 8 8 8.5 0.5 98.5 1.5
Difficulty to understand material 2 6 8 6 3 32 68
Gaining knowledge on their own 10 8 8 9 100
Conducive atmosphere 9 7 1 8 7 2 91.2 8.8
Recommend course to colleagues 9 1 8 8 8 1 94.3 5.7Lab chairs uncomfortable,
sensitivity to alcohol fumes
Too scientific, a lot of terminology, course too short
Expected learning about particular species
Course highlights
02468
1012141618
Microsc
ope
Internet
Species ID
Lecturer
s
Species divers
ity
Morphology
Curation
Coelaca
nth
New co
ncepts
Class 4Class 3Class 2Class 1
Course experience
0
5
10
15
20
Bad OKUse
fulGood
Excell
ent
Class 4Class 3Class 2Class 1
Many learners expressed a wish for more courses
Teachers’ observations Learners had inadequate skills in maths – could not calculate percentages without assistance and did not understand proportions They were weak in terms English language reading and comprehension, and general knowledge They had a difficulty with abstract thinking and little analytical skill (at least partly due to language) These weaknesses required much teacher – learner interaction Nevertheless, they were generally highly motivated to increase their knowledge practical skills
Conclusions By their own admission, the learners acquired a lot of new knowledge, but they will need more practical experience under supervision to become proficient and confident in fish identification Considering their educational background, the novelty of the subject and the duration of the course the learners performed well There is a need to develop a more user-friendly fish identification tool
Acknowledgements
We thank management, and members of staff of SAIAB and DEAT for their assistance and support in running the fish identification courses.