One of the most beloved camp activities is Fish Banks! Campers participated in an
interactive simulation in which the girls played the roles of fisherwomen in a commercial
fishing fleet. Each group seeks to maximize their net worth through purchasing ships
and catching fish in offshore and coastal waters while dealing with competing teams
and fluctuating environmental conditions. In addition to the intensive task of operating
a fleet of boats, in between rounds campers participated in ship auctions and creating
commercials/ads.
All teams were extremely successful for the first 6 years of fishing simulation and
had expanded the ships in their fleet substantially while maintaining highly profitable
catch rates. The campers monitor the simulated fish catches by interpreting graphs
and figures generated each 鈥測ear鈥� of the game. However after year 7 the fish populations
in both deep sea and coastal waters had dropped significantly due to heavy overfishing
and over the next few 鈥測ears鈥� experienced a total collapse.
By the end of the activity campers realized that Fish Banks is much more than just a fun game, it鈥檚 a realistic simulation that teaches the challenges of managing fisheries sustainably and the consequences of overfishing.