How to use this marine reserve simulator
The screen of the simulator is divided into three areas.
- The sea
- The control buttons
- The graphing section
The Sea
This is where the fish live, breed and die. There are two types of fish in the sea, each of which have different characteristics. The red fish are slow moving and slow to mature but their larvae (sprats) disperse quickly. The tan fish move quickly and mature faster than the red fish. The marine reserve in light blue border at the bottom left of the sea. Fish inside this are are 'protected' and cannot be caught.
The Control Buttons
There are three controls available. The two green arrows increase or decrease the marine reserve size. The number displayed between them shows the amount of sea which the reserve covers. The default value is 10%. The reset button resets the simulation and restocks the sea. Use the reset button to try again when all the fish have been caught.
The Graphing Section
The graphs at the top of the screen display two types of information. The green area indicates the total number of fish in the sea. The red line shows the average number of fish caught by the fishing boat.
Tips and aims
An ideal situation is to have about 10-15% of the sea as a marine reserve, which allows the fish to breed but still gives the fishing boat plently of sea to catch fish in. Try to keep the fish stock in the top 75% of the graph and the number of fish caught in the top 50%.
