Hello, Ms. Nicole's class!
My name is Melati. I’m a scientist living in Indonesia. That’s a country on the other side of the earth from you. When you get to school in the morning, I’m going to bed. And while you’re sleeping, I’ll eat my breakfast, lunch and dinner!
I’m here in Indonesia to learn about fish that live in coral reefs. Maybe you’ve seen this kind of fish and ecosystem at the aquarium? Or the pet store? They come in all the colors of the rainbow and have wild names: clown fish, scorpion fish, puffer fish.
In the part of Indonesia where I live, almost everyone is always thinking about fish. Moms and dads go out and catch fish to sell, sometimes even to American pet stores. Grandparents row boats everyday to catch tiny fish that they bring home to fry. On moonlit nights, kids hunt sea snails and fish when the tide goes out. That’s a lot of people fishing!
My job is figuring out how many fish and which species are being caught. Then I map all this information so that local governments can make policies that make sure there will still be enough fish babies left to grow into big fish for future kids to hunt on moonlit nights.
