You
can make 2015 a great year for saving our oceans and fish
This has been a good year for ORI
campaigns saving our oceans, wildlife and fish habitats. Entering the final
days of the year, we sure could use your support. Now is the time to
give.
With all five counties in Indian
River Lagoon enacting responsible lawn care ordinances, 2014 will be remembered
as the banner year for stopping nitrogen pollution and saving dolphins. We
collaborated with many local groups to achieve three victories, passage of
strong lawn fertilizing stewardship ordinances in Brevard County, St. Lucie
County and Volusia County.
"When flying over Florida, it
is very easy to spot bodies of water with nitrogen pollution right next to ones
without. The prevalence of this problem is visible! Our state needs to educate
the public, especially those in charge of fertilizing, and enact/enforce
regulations... ORI's efforts are to be applauded and expanded!" ~ Linda Kade of Palm Coast,
FL
Linda's words speak to what can be
gained when diverse people come together for a common cause, as the youth say,
"to get the muck out." Our four-year effort is now paying off. The Treasure
Coast is showing signs of recovery, with fewer dolphin and manatee deaths, more
water birds, clearer water, and sea grass beds returning.
More good news for fish, ORI's
campaign urging the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council to restore river
herring and shad populations is succeeding. The Council saved an estimated 1.6
million fish when it reduced the catch limit by 62%, from 236 metric tons to 89
metric tons. We delivered petition letters to get better protections for forage
fish, for more prey for bigger fish, birds and marine mammals.
Much more needs to be done. Our
forage fish suit helped the Council vote to prioritize an amendment to consider
forage based control rules. We have stayed litigation until after the next
Council meeting at the end of January. However, a corporate intervener in the
suit has opposed the stay in an attempt to force the Council to act prematurely
before the vote can be held to actually initiate it. And it, the herring
assessment, does not look good this time around with lots of
uncertainty. Estimates of natural mortality are not working so well without a
forage-based control rule. ORI is staying vigilant. We will be there, once
again, to testify at the Council meeting.
More Fish in the Sea for All
-
More Funding for Fisheries
Research from Magnuson-Stevens
"When federal funding was given
to study haddock, they observed that haddock swim with cod and flounder. When
the net approached the fish behaved differently. Cod and flounder swam downwards
towards the bottom. The haddock swam to one side of the net. Knowing this,
fishermen modified their nets and practices. Haddock is now being sustainably
fished with much less incidental catch of the rarer cod and flounder."
~Rob Moir at San
Francisco's Green Festival, November 2014
Saving fish and fishing
communities is ORI's newest campaign. Since 2000, thirty-four fish stocks have
been rebuilt from overfished to sustainably fished. Out of 232 commercially
valuable fish stocks, only about two dozen are now being overfished. The hard
work by the Fishery Councils and sacrifices made by fishermen has paid
off. We
are nearly there. It is only a matter of more federal funding, time and
effort before we have 100% sustainable American fisheries.
"We all must protect America's
ocean ecosystems and fisheries for ALL our healthy futures are critically linked
to healthy fisheries of our oceans. Absolutely the most effective way to protect
America's fisheries is to continue and even strengthen the Magnuson-Stevens
Act." ~ Eric
Bindsell of Gardiner, MT
Eric is right on. We must see the
Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Management Act reauthorized with more funding for
fisheries research. More, not less, will be a heavy lift for Washington
politicians. Something they will only do with urgings from their
constituents. Your financial support enables us to engage, educate, and enliven
understandings of both fish and fishery management, to build a movement with
others. The opportunity for better-funded and informed fisheries management
comes only once a decade. This may be our last call for fish.
Every donation you make, every
dollar you give, is a positive step for our fish, habitats, and oceans.
