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Stop the Dangerous Privatization of Oceans!

Target: Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council
Sponsored by: Food and Water Watch

It’s hard to imagine there is an entire industry out there dedicated to privatizing the vast, wild oceans, and threatens the livelihood of Gulf Coast fishing families.

How? The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council is trying to set up the path for a dangerous new industry: commercial-scale fish farming in our oceans.

This largely untested industry threatens the safety of our food, hurts the marine environment, and endangers the livelihood of fishing communities that depend on healthy wild fish to make a living.

The council has been operating under the radar. Let them know they are being watched and that you care about our oceans and our health.

Tell the Fishery Management Council that fishing communities and the public need more time to weigh in. Sign the petition and help stop the giveaway of our oceans!

deadline: 10-18-2008
goal: 15,000

10,819
signatures!

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Dear Gulf Council:

I am very concerned about the developing plan for commercial ocean fish farming in the Gulf of Mexico. As-is, the plan does not adequately address the effects of industrial ocean fish farming on public health, the Gulf environment, and local fishing communities.

I strongly urge you to provide the American public the opportunity to engage on this important issue by providing another comment period and holding regional workshops so people will better understand open ocean aquaculture and what it will mean to their lives. While open ocean aquaculture has been a topic of discussion at the Council for some time, the current plan was only first debuted in January 2007, and has been whisked through the Council process in less than a year, with little publicity.

In particular, I am worried that the Council plan does not:
- Have strict environmental requirements about pollution and harm to habitat and wildlife
- Prevent farming of endangered or threatened species and species of concern
- Protect essential habitat and fishing grounds by requiring buffer zones around special or fragile places
- Require compensation for exclusionary use of public resources for private profit
- Prevent using oil rigs for aquaculture
- Talk about how increasing aquaculture can hurt other marine wildlife by using more prey species in feed

These are all extremely important issues that must be addressed before any aquaculture permits are even considered in the Gulf of Mexico. I strongly urge the Council to review the developing plan for ocean fish farming very carefully before moving forward, and to provide another comment period and regional workshops. A poorly or hurriedly designed open ocean aquaculture plan could have unintended consequences. There is no reason to rush to finalize an incomplete plan.

[Your comment]

Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]

We signed the “Stop the Dangerous Privatization of Oceans!” petition!

# 100:

6:50 pm PDT, Oct 23, Roxanne Acosta, Florida

# 99:

6:46 pm PDT, Oct 23, Karen Gray, Indiana

# 98:

6:44 pm PDT, Oct 23, Cristina Ramirez, California

# 97:

6:44 pm PDT, Oct 23, Fernanda De La Torre, Argentina

# 96:

6:43 pm PDT, Oct 23, Brandy Baker, Ohio

# 95:

6:42 pm PDT, Oct 23, Laurie Heijn, Vermont
The corporations are destroying the continents, now they are starting in on the oceans.

# 94:

6:31 pm PDT, Oct 23, Erika Stone, Virginia

# 93:

6:03 pm PDT, Oct 23, Terry O'Neal, Virginia

# 92:

5:48 pm PDT, Oct 23, Cosmic Rhino Gifts, California

# 91:

5:44 pm PDT, Oct 23, Stu Raddings, Pennsylvania

# 90:

5:34 pm PDT, Oct 23, Rosemary Rannes, New Hampshire
Fish farming is not a healthy practice for humans, fish or the environment. What we NEED is a responsible program to clean up our oceans with laws in place to protect all species from overfishing. Our oceans are not for sale! and not for privitization!

# 89:

5:19 pm PDT, Oct 23, Sara Boissonnault, New Hampshire

# 88:

5:18 pm PDT, Oct 23, Spencer Hamilton, Michigan

# 87:

5:10 pm PDT, Oct 23, Noelle Ward, Florida

# 86:

5:07 pm PDT, Oct 23, Brian Ratchford, Pennsylvania

# 85:

4:43 pm PDT, Oct 23, Emilie Potvin, Canada

# 84:

4:41 pm PDT, Oct 23, Mary Boyer, Minnesota

# 83:

4:31 pm PDT, Oct 23, CJ Childress, Kentucky

# 82:

4:30 pm PDT, Oct 23, Name not displayed, Maine

# 81:

4:23 pm PDT, Oct 23, Gentle Deer Lion Tamer, Texas

# 80:

4:16 pm PDT, Oct 23, Mels Whe, Vermont

# 79:

4:11 pm PDT, Oct 23, Christopher Dupee, Vermont

# 78:

3:51 pm PDT, Oct 23, Name not displayed, New York

# 77:

3:49 pm PDT, Oct 23, Gerry Carter, Texas

# 76:

3:48 pm PDT, Oct 23, Thomas Kirk, Canada

# 75:

3:25 pm PDT, Oct 23, Paulina Wojcik, Canada

# 74:

3:22 pm PDT, Oct 23, Judy Stufflebeam, Oregon

# 73:

3:22 pm PDT, Oct 23, Kathie Maffitt, New Hampshire

# 72:

3:20 pm PDT, Oct 23, Emiliano Galluccio, Italy

# 71:

3:10 pm PDT, Oct 23, Name not displayed, North Carolina

# 70:

3:10 pm PDT, Oct 23, Shasta McBride, California

# 69:

3:08 pm PDT, Oct 23, Sladjana Grgic, Serbia And Montenegro

# 68:

3:04 pm PDT, Oct 23, Name not displayed, Connecticut

# 67:

2:52 pm PDT, Oct 23, Alex Gibson, New Zealand

# 66:

2:47 pm PDT, Oct 23, Charlie Starkey, New Jersey
Great. More pillaging of the world's ecosystems fo the short-term benefit of mankind. And what happens after that? Are we all just fiddling while Rome burns?

# 65:

2:19 pm PDT, Oct 23, Name not displayed, Massachusetts

# 64:

2:18 pm PDT, Oct 23, Audra Hughes, Florida

# 63:

2:15 pm PDT, Oct 23, Bess Katerinsky, New York

# 62:

2:01 pm PDT, Oct 23, Dorothy Kirkpatrick, Florida

# 61:

1:46 pm PDT, Oct 23, Panagiotis Rigopoulos, Greece

# 60:

1:45 pm PDT, Oct 23, Jamie Whitmire, North Carolina

# 59:

1:35 pm PDT, Oct 23, D. Hood, Michigan

# 58:

1:27 pm PDT, Oct 23, Rajashekhar Chava, Pennsylvania

# 57:

1:25 pm PDT, Oct 23, H. Crabtree, Tennessee

# 56:

1:20 pm PDT, Oct 23, Natalie Haraway, Arkansas

# 55:

1:20 pm PDT, Oct 23, J. Kunesh, Michigan

# 54:

1:10 pm PDT, Oct 23, Polly Odyssey, Missouri

# 53:

1:08 pm PDT, Oct 23, J. Barnes, Michigan

# 52:

12:55 pm PDT, Oct 23, Jennifer Zarro, California

# 51:

12:49 pm PDT, Oct 23, L. Barnes, Michigan

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