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Oceana | Protecting the World's Oceans

Add your name: Save the seafloor from destruction

Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Add your name: Save the seafloor from destruction

Ben Enticknap, Oceana Unsubscribe 10:24 AM (10 hours ago) to me

Need your voice today to help save the seafloor

Oceana | Protecting the World's Oceans

Peter,

I need your help today to save the living seafloor.

Right now, off the U.S. West Coast, incredible seafloor habitat – including fragile, centuries-old corals, sponges and marine life that make their homes in this space – remains unprotected from bottom trawling.

Bottom trawling clear-cuts the seafloor. Important habitats once teeming with life are simply wiped out. Octopuses, fish and all sorts of marine life that do survive a bottom-trawl’s pass are left virtually homeless. The habitat they depend on left virtually unrecognizable.

We must prevent this nightmare. The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) will decide whether to expand or remove protections for seafloor habitats on April 9. Together, we’ve won historic protections for the seafloor before because Wavemakers like you spoke up, Peter. I need your help now to defend and further our progress for our oceans.

Tell the PFMC to save the seafloor – Defend and expand protections for seafloor habitats off the U.S. West Coast before they’re wiped out >>

We need at least 30,000 Wavemakers to make their voices heard before the March 28 deadline.

Save the Seafloor!

Healthy oceans and productive fisheries need healthy seafloors. And, Peter, I can tell you firsthand that these special places are worth protecting.

I was a member of Oceana’s 2016 expedition to explore and document unprotected seafloor habitats off the coast of southern California. What we found was truly breath-taking: seafloor habitats teeming with life. Our findings increased known corals in the area by more than 30 percent and contributed valuable scientific evidence to justify protection.

Many of these areas have not yet suffered the devastation of bottom trawls, and it’s up to us to keep it that way.

Next month, I’ll be advocating that the living seafloor receive the protections it deserves. Please, stand beside us in our fight to protect our oceans by signing our petition today.

Add your name right now to save the seafloor and protect our oceans – We need at least 30,000 Wavemakers to take action now >>

Ben Enticknap For the oceans, Ben Enticknap Pacific Campaign Manager and Senior Scientist Oceana

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This email was sent to peterbnyc@gmail.com. If this isn’t the best email address at which to reach you please let us know. Staying in touch via the Oceana email list is the best way we have of keeping in regular contact with supporters like you across the world and letting you know about the ways you can take action to protect our oceans. Click here to unsubscribe from our Wavemaker list, but if you leave, it will be harder for you to stay involved with Oceana and continue the work that you’ve been such a critical part of. Oceana wins victories that protect critical ocean habitat and pivotal ocean animals because of dedicated ocean advocates like you, and we’d love to hear your ideas. Send us any comments, criticisms, or feedback by replying to this email. Thanks for your support.

Oceana | 1350 Connecticut Ave. NW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20036 USA p: +1 877.762.3262
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Dear Mr. Anderson, Pacific Fishery Management Council Chair and Mr. Oliver, Assistant Administrator, NOAA Fisheries:

I write to express my concern for the future of the ocean’s living seafloor. Priority seafloor habitats, like cold-water corals, sponges, rocky reefs and underwater canyons provide essential habitat for the reproduction, feeding, growth and shelter of many species of ocean life. This includes commercially and recreationally important fish such as rockfish as well as other species like sea stars and octopus. Bottom trawling poses the single greatest threat to seafloor habitats and, in turn, jeopardizes the greater health of the ocean ecosystem.

As you make a final determination on the conservation of essential fish habitat, you have the opportunity and responsibility to protect these resources, both for their intrinsic value and for the important benefit that these public resources provide us in return. Any changes to existing protection measures, including Rockfish Conservation Areas and Essential Fish Habitat Conservation Areas, should result in a net increase in protections for all habitat types, regionally and coast-wide. Furthermore, it would be irresponsible to reopen to bottom trawling any areas known to contain priority habitat features.

We urge you to adopt the essential fish habitat conservation alternative that is based on the proposal submitted by Oceana and others (Alterative 1b). Alternative 1b will increase the protection of seafloor habitats off the U.S. West Coast and keep open areas important for fisheries. We also urge you to adopt the protection of the deep-water habitat area off California (Alternative 3a). Protecting these important habitats will greatly benefit the ocean ecosystem and future generations, while maintaining vibrant and sustainable fisheries.

Sincerely,