JERROD REBOREDO
This website is for a writing and research class where we will be learning about animals science, advocacy, and exploring twitter #39canimals
Hi, you guys my name is Jerrod Reboredo. I am a student at UC Santa Cruz studying Global Economics. I love animals and have two pet hamsters at home who inspire me to care about other animals as much as I do for them.
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USEFULNESS OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Social media is a useful tool for education, advocacy, and research
Social media acts as a way to gather knowledge about a specific topic from many different perspectives. It is also helpful in finding information on organizations, studies, and learning about different ways to share information with an online community. The information that I found on social media that were particularly useful to me was finding different articles relating to my topic and seeing the work that different organizations posted to find some solutions to the problems that are occurring with regards to my species. Being able to interact, like, retweet, and share different posts also better allows me to connect with the writing 39c community but also raises awareness to others. Through the main use of Twitter in my social media campaign, I have come across really great information that I choose to tweet about on this platform.
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1) BEST TWEET
Fish Farms
I chose this tweet because not only are lobsters being negatively affected by the environment and by the fishing industry but they are also being mistreated by the process of our consumption. There is recent studies that have shown that lobsters feel pain and illustrate that they are sentient beings therefore…. Therefore torture and dismemberment of lobsters that is shown in this video is inhumane and unethical.
2) BEST TWEET
PETA investigation
I chose this tweet because many lobsters are still found left over in these traps suffering from health conditions or dead because they can't manage to escape them. In the article it mentions how the lobstermen do not think that less strong nets will be useful, but I think it will be necessary to at least help save some of the animals that get trapped in the abandoned traps. Something else I was thinking about is the other environmental side effects of these leftover traps that are trashed at the bottom of the ocean. It may be the case that no animals are trapped inside but it is still polluting the ocean and can cause other animals in the future to get tangled in there.
GULF OF MAINE LOBSTER FOUNDATION
Earlier I tweeted about the problems with ghost gear being disregarded at the bottom of the seas. This shows how the organization is trying to clean up this problem that is leaving many lobsters to get trapped in as well as polluting the water. Because of this action more animals are safe off the coast of Maine.
PROBLEMS
Maine lobster at risk of losing a sustainability label over right whale concerns
One one side, there is an argument that the Gulf of Maine Lobster Fisheries are sustainable because it hasn’t killed whales with lobster traps since 2004. But, on the other side it argues that these traps are still killing whales and probably more but are just not reported. Since I disagree with the claim that the fisheries are sustainable I think that it is effective in showing how much the lobster fisherman don’t really care if they get a red label because they still believe that they will be profitable… which is the ultimate goal for the industry.
PROBLEMS
Is it cruel to boil a live lobster?
Not only are lobsters being negatively affected by the environment and by the fishing industry but they are also being mistreated by the process of our consumption. There are recent studies that have shown that lobsters feel pain and illustrate that they are sentient beings therefore…. Therefore torture and dismemberment of lobsters that is shown in this video is inhumane and unethical.
INFOGRAPH
These are problems specifically affecting lobsters, who live at the bottom of the sea. All of these pesticides, urine, feces, waste… ect therefore falls to the bottom and negatively affects the lives of lobsters that live there and their habitat.
SOLUTIONS
Ghost Gear Recovery
The solution to the problem of ghost gear being trashed in our oceans is being alleviated with the Help of @GOMFL. They have implemented community oriented clean up, recycling and gear collection programs, and offered stipends for the many volunteers that help keep main’s shores clean.
