| Records show a significant decline in the number of male adult blue crabs in Chesapeake Bay. 79 million was slashed to 39 million in under a year. Crabs were the victim… traps were the problem!(Puase for 2)
Hi grade 4 students, my name is Raisa and today I am going to tell you why crab trapping should be stopped. I am going to tell you about animals that have been affected by crab traps, the number of declining crabs, and Winter the dolphin’s story.(Puase for 3) |
| Before I tell you about the trapping of marine animals, I should tell you about traps and what they are. Traps are a way of catching food. Traps are put in water and they are left there until a fish or crab goes inside, or a fisherman moves the trap. Traps are used so fishermen don’t have to wait for a fish or crab to come while they can be doing other things. In the 1920’s, Benjamin F. Lewis invented the crab pot. A crab pot is a way that you can catch crabs. You are probably wondering what the difference between a crab trap and a crab pot is?(Puase for 1)The difference is that when a crab goes in a crab trap, the crab can go out any time the crab wants to go out, but when a crab gets caught in a crab pot, it is very hard for the crab to get out of the trap. |
| Did you know that a large percent of crabs and other marine animals have been declining steadily for years?(Puase for 2)
In China, there were 600,000 to 700,000 pairs, mom and dad, in the 1990s. By 2010, about 20 years later, there were only 300,000. In the world, the crab population has declined from about 405 million to 282 million. |
| Have you ever thought of how many marine animals have been affected by crab traps?(Puase for 2)
When people use crab traps they lure other marine animals into the traps and when the marine animals go into the traps they can get very injured. Fishing traps break and injure coral, making it go lighter. Did you know that coral is a real animal?(Pause for 1) Also, turtles have been getting caught in crab traps. |
| Well… here we are, we have arrived at the main point of my speech. Have you heard the story of Winter the dolphin?(Pause for 3)
I must say this is not a kind or pleasant story but the hard truth and reality of what it takes to get that fish on your plate! (Pause for 1) On a cold winter morning, a baby dolphin got tangled up in a crab trap. When the baby dolphin tried to free herself, the ropes that were securing the buoy got tangled around her tail and mouth. A nearby fisherman saw her gasping for breath and went to set her free. After she was set free, the baby dolphin did not swim away from the boat for about 30 minutes. The fisherman knew that the baby dolphin was too tired and injured to swim so he called Clearwater Marine Aquarium. The rescue team arrived a few hours later and caught the baby dolphin. Even though the baby dolphin was very hurt, she was not easy to catch. When the baby dolphin arrived at the aquarium, the team of marine biologists named the baby dolphin Winter because it was a cold day. The marine biologists helped Winter. Sadly, her tail was too damaged to save so they had to cut it off. Since they had to cut Winter’s tail off, Winter could not go back in the wild because it would be to hard for her to swim without a tail. Kevin Carroll made Winter a prosthetic tail that she could swim with. People with prosthetic limbs got to meet Winter, it was very special! |
| We must stop crab trapping to save the crabs! We want crabs to survive and live a good life. We must stop trapping to save innocent animals such as Winter from being harmed or killed in these traps! To help stop trapping, tell other people what you learnd about these traps so they can help speak up again when they see them! |