Dear Avaaz member,
The world's oceans are being emptied, and fishers in developing countries can't find fish--all because of subsidies in rich countries that drive overfishing. This month, the WTO is writing new global fishing rules. Will you send a message to your trade minister to support fair and sustainable fishing? |
Fishers in developing countries are catching fewer and fewer fish--because of massive overfishing by industrialized fishing fleets from rich countries, fleets subsidized with tens of billions of Euros every year. As a result, fish populations are now collapsing around the globe, and could soon be pushed beyond recovery.
But our oceans don't have to die. This September, the World Trade Organization will release a new proposal for global fishing rules--and right now, trade ministers are deciding what those rules should be. If enough of us urge our trade ministers to support a better system, we preserve our oceans for future generations--and for the one billion humans who rely on fish for protein today. Click here to send your trade minister a message in support fairness and sustainability:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/make_fishing_fair/c.php/?cl=16113892
A recent study found that 90% of the ocean's big fish--tuna, swordfish, and marlin--are already gone. But it's not the countries with the greatest need that are catching too many of these fish--it's the subsidized fishing fleets from the rich countries. These fleets don't just trawl the open ocean--they fish off the coasts of developing countries, robbing local fishers and their communities of desperately needed food supplies. And as technology has developed, the crisis has accelerated.
Last week, Dr. Francis K. E. Nunoo, a Ghanaian scientist who studies fisheries ecology, interviewed a local fisherman for this campaign. the fisherman told him:
"Ten years ago, during the peak fishing season of the year, my boat is filled with a single throw of the net. In recent times, we throw the gear about 7 times before filling the same boat. And the situation is even worse this year."
And here's what Sall Samba, an octopus fisherman in Mauritania and father of six, told a reporter:
"You used to be able to fish right in the port. Now, the only thing you can catch here is water."
A group of 125 scientists wrote a letter to the director-general of the WTO, urging him to take action on fishing subsidies. Their argument:
"There are only decades left before the damage we have inflicted on the oceans becomes permanent. We are at a crossroads. One road leads to a world with tremendously diminished marine life. The other leads to one with oceans again teeming with abundance, where the world can rely on the oceans for protein, and enjoy its wildlife. The choices we make today will determine our path for the future."
The World Trade Organization is governed by its 151 member countries. Avaaz members live in every one of those countries--and so, if we act together, we have a tremendous opportunity to push for action. The next few weeks, as the WTO works on its new plan, are critical. The plan is to send messages--thousands of them--to our countries' trade ministers, urging a strong decision by the WTO to change the rules that underly the unfair and unsustainable fishing trade.
Experts say that 29% of commercial fisheries might already be beyond repair. But most of the world's marine ecosystems can recover, if we get our policies right. The very fact that so few people are paying attention to this issue means that our actions will have more power. Please click here to contact your trade minister now:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/make_fishing_fair/c.php/?cl=16113892
The fishing crisis is an example of where our global economic system doesn't work--not for people, and not for the earth. But by joining together to fix it, we can create an example of how global democracy should work: human beings, rich and poor, taking action to renew a world full of life. That's what Avaaz is all about.
Raise your voice and spread the word.
With hope,
Ben, Graziela, Ricken, Paul, Iain, and the rest of the Avaaz team
PS: You can read more about the fishing crisis at this site set up by our partner on this campaign, Oceana. Look here for fact sheets, studies, and the scientists' letter: http://www.cutthebait.org
Here is the article that quoted Sall Samba, from the Wall Street Journal--a great look at the global crisis, the role of rich-country subsidies and global regulation, and the human impact on Mauritania: http://www.illegal-fishing.info/item_single.php?item=news&item_id=1797&approach_id=12
And this article sheds light on the global situation by looking specifically at Senegal: http://www.scienceinafrica.co.za/2003/june/fish.htm
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