michellefrey

I’ve taken on the challenge of Greenpeace’s new ocean game--Deadliest Catch! As Captain Jackson Pollock, it is my responsibility to bring my team of pollock across the cool waters in the Bering Sea. I have to first make it to the marine protected area to spawn and then turn around to come back home before the winter freeze. This sounds like a challenge I’m definitely up for!

OK, so the introduction is pretty cute – but the music is intense, I hope I can make it back alive. As I begin my journey, I’m feeling good and I think I can see all the little fishy in my “crew” smiling as we start to swim. But, shortly after our journey begins we see a large fishing boat deploying their net. Geez, the boat is big and the net is even bigger.

We wait it out a little bit while the net retracts back to the surface. As our window of opportunity appears, I give the “coast is clear” signal to my crew and we swim as fast as we can under the boat. But, the captain on the boat must see us on his radar because as soon as we’re under the boat, the net plunges towards us. Some of us made it out alive – but about 10 of my fishy crew did not live to see another day.

OK, now the crew is depressed and hungry when we see a huge gathering of zoo plankton. We are starving and the zoo plankton tastes so good. As we’re munching away, an equally hungry sea lion (I could even see his mouth watering) dives at us and eats up one of us.

To make a long story short – my crew makes it to the marine protected area to spawn. But, the crew is diminished and battered. On our return journey back home – we cannot escape the giant fishing boats and their nets. They scoop up members of my crew every time. And, hungry sea life – sea gulls and more sea lions chow down on the fish in my crew.

When I make it back home, it’s only me and two fish from the original crew. Uh, that’s not so good.

So, in the end my journey was a complete failure. If I can’t make it in a game – I wonder how the real fish and marine creatures are making it out there in the real world.

How did you do at the game?