User:Natashasing987/Evaluate an Article

Which article are you evaluating?
Salmon

Why you have chosen this article to evaluate?
General interest in marine biology and salmon are a fish I am familiar with from growing up on the west coast. All information contained in the article is relevant to the topic of "salmon". The pictures are relevant and informative.

Evaluate the article
The article about "Salmon" is clear, provides a detailed overview of major topics and provides valuable information. The article is rated as B-class and is a level 4 vital article. The lead section shows accurate table of contents, and the paragraph provides an overview of the topics that will be discussed in the article.

The content in the article is relevant, defines key terms/ideas, and provides detailed information without lending too much weight to any one topic. However, there is a section that could be added. For instance, I would add a section which describes threats to salmon populations, such as overharvesting, habitat loss, chemical exposure, parasite infestation, effects of climate change, etc... There is information about parasite infestation, and pile driving risk, however there is enough information to create a new section.

The article discusses First Peoples histories with salmon, however words used should be more specific. For instance, the word "Native" is used in a general term, "Natives [sic] often used the entire fish and left no waste by creating items such turning the bladder into glue, bones for toys, and skin for clothing and shoes.". This is not specific to which First Peoples did this and where, considering that salmon span a large geographical area. In addition, when describing the first salmon ceremony the article states "The first salmon ceremony was introduced by indigenous tribes on the pacific coast". When reading the source article, it states that this ceremony is reinstated (after long periods of not being allowed to practice this ceremony) by the Salish First Peoples, Tulalip First Peoples, and other First Peoples along the coast of Washington State and British Columbia. Due to the cultural significance of this ceremony, I would argue that 'Introduced' is not the right term, rather

using the term 'revive' to describe a ceremony that was once practiced, followed a period of inactivity (due to laws at the time which prohibited such ceremonies), but is being practiced once again is more accurate. Lastly, using words such as "Native inhabitants", and "Natives" may perpetuate negative connotations, and does not account for any differences amongst First Peoples. Also when using the word 'indigenous' capitalizing the 'I' is a sign of respect, and recognizes the legitimacy of First Peoples, in addition to pluralizing words like Indigenous and peoples.

The tone of the article remains neutral throughout. The topics are generally even, with commercial and recreational fishing topics being somewhat lengthy.

The images are well captioned, and they all contribute to further understanding of the topic. The article is aesthetically pleasing, with images being laid out in their respective topic section.

There are many references contained in this article, generally information is backed up by a reliable source however there are certain instances where references can be improved. For instance, a reference in the beginning paragraph states that "Norway is the world's largest producer of salmon, followed by Chile." when I checked the reference, it lead me to a news article which was in Portuguese, once the article was translated, it was a news article about a harmful algae bloom which killed 4,200 tons of salmon in Chile. This reference could be improved to a more reliable source which could be about commercial aquaculture in Chile, such as this peer reviewed article from a reliable source and specifically about commercial aquaculture in Chile. In addition, there were no references to support the statement "As animists, the indigenous people relied not only for salmon for food, but spiritual guidance. The role of the salmon spirit guided the people to respect ecological systems such as the rivers and tributaries the salmon used for spawning." the reference could be from an article about the oral histories of First Peoples or from a first person account.

The talk pages include conversations on word usage, certain references and images which cannot be added, and the external links that can be modified.

The article has a strong scientific basis, and the scientific information is founded on good references, with plenty of information to back up the claim. However, the article could be improved by using better references for the histories of First Peoples, and improving the terms which are used.