A menhaden, also known as a mossbunker, bunker, and pogy, is any forage fish of the genera Brevoortia and Ethmidum of the family Clupeidae. Gulf menhaden and Atlantic menhaden are small oily-fleshed fish characterized by their bright silver color and a series of smaller spots behind the humeral spot. They are flat with soft flesh and a deeply forked tail, and they grow to a maximum of 15 inches long. According to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the stock of menhaden is not considered overfished currently, there have been 32 instances of overfishing in the past 54 years. Paul Greenburg, the author of Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food, has called for a fishing ban for menhaden in US federal waters and the Chesapeake bay due to the detrimental effects overfishing is having on the population, and in turn the menhaden's predator populations and the water quality. However, a fishing ban is not the best course of action.
One factor that could be resulting in the reduced population of menhaden is the large population of striped bass. They are a culprit in the decline of the menhaden population because as their population grows they eat more fish including menhaden. This type of culprit would not be effected by placing restrictions on menhaden fishing.
Also, because menhaden are a food source for all animals, the prohibition of fishing menhaden would break a supply chain. Therefore by trying to protect menhaden through the prohibition of fishing it is really hurting the food supply for others.
Finally, if the government were to issue these harsh fishing restrictions, a lot of people would become unemployed. Those who depend on fishing menhaden for a living would not be able to maintain their livelihood if they are no longer able to fish for them.
The article states that a ban action for fishing the menhaden fish is not the best solution and provides three reasons of support. However, the professor explains that after rexamining the information in the passage, the ban is the right solution, and he refutes each of the Author's reasons.
First, the reading asserts that one of the factors that cause the decline in the number of menhaden fish is the large population of striped bass, which feed on menhaden. On the other hand, the professor contends that by activating the restriction on hunting the menhaden, we will keep the nature equilibrium, and the nature will keep the number of menhaden without decline.
Second, the reading posits that the ban will affect on all animals because menhaden is a main source of food for them. The professor opposes this point by saying that there are many species that can replace the menhaden as a food source. So, this ban will not affect on other animals seriously.
Third, the article claims that a lot of people will become unemployed after the fishing restrictions. However, the professor refutes this point by explaining that this will be a temporary situation. According to the professor, people who depend on fishing the menhaden will return back fishing, but only they need to change the type of fish they catch.
Attribute Value Ideal
Score: 25 in 30
Category: Very Good Excellent
No. of Grammatical Errors: 0 2
No. of Spelling Errors: 0 2
No. of Sentences: 10 12
No. of Words: 223 250
No. of Characters: 1068 1200
No. of Different Words: 111 150
Fourth Root of Number of Words: 3.864 4.2
Average Word Length: 4.789 4.6
Word Length SD: 2.391 2.4
No. of Words greater than 5 chars: 81 80
No. of Words greater than 6 chars: 61 60
No. of Words greater than 7 chars: 32 40
No. of Words greater than 8 chars: 18 20
Use of Passive Voice (%): 0 0
Avg. Sentence Length: 22.3 21.0
Sentence Length SD: 6.754 7.5
Use of Discourse Markers (%): 0.8 0.12
Sentence-Text Coherence: 0.399 0.35
Sentence-Para Coherence: 0.675 0.50
Sentence-Sentence Coherence: 0.136 0.07
Number of Paragraphs: 4 4