Academic Update
Fishing is the main industry of South Caicos, relying mostly on conch and lobster. This afternoon we all went to visit one of the three fish processing plants on the island. The manager of the plant, Franklin Lockhart, explained to us how the collected lobster and conch are cleaned and processed before they are put into boxes to be shipped to the US. As two boats arrived while we were on the dock, we had a chance to see things with our own eyes. At the docks the lobsters got weighed, their tails got separated from their body and placed into the freezer waiting for shipping. The conchs were already shucked (removed from their shells) at the locations were they were caught. At the dock the collected conch were weighed and in the plant they were cleaned in the Mexican style, so only their white muscular parts remained.

Franklin told us that times were not favorable; the current prices of conch and lobster were quite low and that the catches were considerably lower this last year than previous years. He thought that hurricane Ike that hit the region in 2008 might be responsible for the poor catches. He also talked about his childhood and about how much locals were depending on seafood during those times, consuming seafood six to seven days week. He said that even if the islanders were not depending anymore on seafood as their sole diet, many families still depended on the catches economically.

I am very glad we went to see the plants, when we will talk about conch and lobster management the students will have a better idea of how they are processed and where they are shipped. We all took lots of pictures and got back to the center just on time to see a magnificent sunset.
- Dr. Eva Toth, Lecturer in Marine Resource Management

Student Reflections
This week in the field was academically rigorous but featured my first birthday with my new “family,” which was different from any birthday that I had experienced in the past. The group had our first identification test in the field, which was difficult yet much more fulfilling than taking a written test in an inside classroom. We will be able to better retain the scientific names of the fish through our spending time with them in the “classroom,” our private snorkeling island, than memorizing the picture of a fish that I never would have seen in Pennsylvania.

Although I have only known my professors and peers for two weeks, they made me feel like my birthday was the most important day in the world. I have started to figure out why my friends who have studied with SFS have loved it so much, and stay in good touch with their classmates from years ago.
- Arthur Phinney, Dickinson College

This week Pete, our environmental policy professor, took the class out to see the local fishery. It’s a welcome change from the marine ecology field ID sessions in the water, as we get to dry off for once and experience marine life from the fishermen’s perspective. Blow, the fisheries manager, explained the conch cleaning process to us before running off to help with the boat that had just arrived with a fresh load of conch. Conch meat covers the bottom of these paint-chipped small boats, and the two fishermen on the boat shovel the meat out for weighing. Along with the conch, the fishermen have caught two spiny lobsters. It’s strange seeing all these creatures that had been so carefully observed in their natural environment being handled like this. At the same time, I am able to see the conch and lobsters through the eyes of the fishermen, and what these organisms mean to the locals. Recognizing the differences between the island’s and my appreciation of the marine life have been the greatest and most welcome culture shock for me yet.
- Jane Park, Wellesley College

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