Grade
5

Math in Our World: Catching Haddock

Fisherman waving from his boat.
A fish called a haddock.

Joe is a fisherman in Portland, Maine. His job is to catch a type of fish called haddock. He sells it to local stores and restaurants.

Yesterday, Joe caught 134 haddock. The average size of a haddock he caught was 5¾ pounds. He sells the fish for $6.49 per pound. About ½ of that is meat that can be used for food.

  1. Use pictures, models, or numbers to show what is happening.
  2. What do you notice? What do you wonder?
  3. What mathematical questions can you ask about this situation? Answer all the questions you can!
  • Use a ratio table to find the total weight of 134 haddock. Would knowing the weight of 2, 10, and 100 haddock help you? What other numbers would you want to include on your ratio table?
  • About how many pounds of fish do you estimate Joe catches in a week, a month, or a year?
  • Show your work to someone else, and explain your thinking. Did they understand?
  • Ask whether they have any other questions you can answer!

How heavy is 5¾ pounds? Can you find an object or a set of objects that weighs about the same as a haddock? You can use a scale or labels on a package to determine the weight of objects. (Hint: There are 16 ounces in a pound.)

Printable Version

Google doc for printing and copying

Seesaw Version

Activity for the Seesaw platform

Reference for Educators

Sample problems and solutions