Title: “big problems”
Thinking Skill(s): Synthesizing
For this project, I’m going to make a large drawing of a whale shark. This is the 1st part of it done with white charcoal. Whale sharks are the largest animals in the sea and are entirely harmless, as they’re filter feeders. Quite unfortunately, these gentle giants are endangered and most of it is due to humans. Whale sharks are considered to be very desirable in Asian countries. This includes China and Oman. Often they are used for shark fin soup, meaning only the fins are consumed and the rest of the fish goes uneaten. They are also wanted for their oil, which can be used to waterproof fishing boats. Their biggest threat is humans.
They can sometimes be caught in propellers, run into fishing boats, get caught accidentally as a byproduct, or sometimes get tangled in unused fishing gear. They’ve recently been moved from “Vulnerable” to “Endangered” by the IUCN. Whale sharks are extremely susceptible to intentional fishing because their size, slowness, docile nature, and long development time, they’re easy to catch and are easily overwhelmed by the poaching. I want to raise awareness for the whale sharks in hopes of one day bringing them back to what they were. I’ve decided to make a large drawing of a whale shark using multiple mediums. This ties into the synthesizing. I also did it because of the way whale sharks are used. Most of the time, whole parts of them go unused and wasted, and so I wanted to imitate the process of putting them back together with the different parts of the whole drawing. This cause is very important because the whale shark is an important part of its ecosystem. They are an indicator of water quality, as they feed on plankton, and will often lead to the attraction of more desirable fish such as tuna.
Whale sharks are essentially gentle giants of the ocean, and because humans are the cause of the decline in their population, we are responsible for fixing it. When I’m done with this project, I hope that it might help raise some more awareness for the whale sharks and ensure the safety of their species in the future.
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I think that that project is a good idea and you gave good causes. I think you are staying true to your topic by keeping up a series of works related to helping marine life.
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