By: Christina Borger
Posted In: News
Photo credit: Christina Borger
Dr. Chace using the Fish Banks simulator
Students in Dr. Jameson Chace’s “Humans and Their Environment” class began Friday like any other. However, they did not know that afternoon they would all become partners in a fishing company for the next 10 years. The class gathered in Jazzman’s Café to embark on their fishing career.
Fish Banks LTD. is a simulation model which informs and educates people about using natural resources and fish, effectively and sensibly. The class would be put into teams of four, making a fishing company. Each company would have to employ the best way to accrue the maximum number of fish in both deep and coastal sea areas, while maintaining positive bank balances. The team with the most assets in the end wins. Chace began the simulation by explaining the ins and outs of the game. Each company was given $1800 to start their fishing business from which they had to manage expenditures such as new ship orders, harbor operational costs, and interest charges. Each company would record their expenditures for the upcoming year for Chace to input into the simulator. The simulator would then come back with the results. The company with the most assets at the end of the game wins. “Alright, we’re going fishing!” remarked Chace as he headed off the first round of the simulation. Each member of the company played a crucial role in the game. The ship handler position is responsible for carrying the ships to the ocean and placing them in either deep or coastal sea areas, which was decided at the team’s discretion. The record keeper records all the decisions made on an audit sheet. The negotiator is the person that confers with the other teams to see if they are interesting in buying or selling any of their ships. Finally, the strategist develops and promotes a good plan of action that will hopefully lead their team to victory. The strategy can be discussed and agreed on as a team. Team Fish Sticks diligently competed for the lead. They would not reveal their strategy. r Ashley Stoppa, a sophomore, explained that their general rule of thumb is to “Go big or go home.” Stoppa was accompanied by her teammates, Kristen Cokely, and Sarah Small. All three recited their team motto, “And that’s the way the cookie crumbles,” a famous Jim Carey line from Bruce Almighty. One of the other competing teams, Team Pirates, disclosed part of their strategy. “We are trying to figure out where everyone else is putting their ships, so then we’ll know. It all comes down to what happens in the end,” said Jonathan Risk, sophomore. All in all, the Fish Bank simulator unified the awareness of renewable natural resources, the importance of monetary management and the presence of competition in a very ‘scaly’ market.
