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Act Now to Save Red Snapper

Target: Peter Hood; Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council
Sponsored by: The Ocean Conservancy

Contrary to what your mother told you, there are only so many fish in the sea. And, while most people recognize that the ocean's bounty is central to our very survival, we have too often failed to recognize that ocean resources are finite. They can be exhausted.

Without immediate action, red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico face further depletion that jeopardizes the long-term health of this signature fish population.

For over two decades Gulf fishery managers, whose responsibility it is to protect and sustain our fish populations, have ignored science and repeatedly set catch levels too high. As a result, the spawning population of Gulf red snapper is down to 3% of its historic abundance.

In early June, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council adopt new measures for red snapper, and time is running out to get the plan right.

Tell the Fish Management Council to work aggressively to end overfishing of red snapper and to rebuild the population as quickly as possible.

deadline: 5-28-2007
goal: 10,000

15,560
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Success! Because of the Ocean Conservancy's hard work and dedicated people like you, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council adopted a plan to set a science-based catch limit for red snapper. Thank you! Please click here for more petitions.

I am deeply concerned about the health of red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico. Red snapper is vitally important to the ocean ecosystem and the fishing communities that depend on them. Failure to stop the depletion of red snapper poses threats for the fish, fishermen, consumers and coastal economies.

As an Ocean Conservancy supporter, I write to urge the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council to implement management measures in Amendments 27 & 14 (as part of the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, or "DSEIS") that will end the overfishing of red snapper and rebuild red snapper as quickly as possible.

In order to restore the health of the Gulf red snapper population, I urge you to adopt measures that: (1) set a scientifically based catch limit that will end overfishing by 2009 and rebuild red snapper as soon as possible; (2) greatly reduce bycatch in the red snapper fishery, as well as bycatch from shrimp trawls to levels necessary to end overfishing and restore red snapper; (3) enforce catch and bycatch limits so that they are not exceeded as they have been in the past; and (4) provide economic incentives for fishermen to achieve conservation benefits.

Continued overfishing of red snapper is bad for the Gulf ecosystem and bad for fishing communities reliant on sustainable fishing which healthy stocks can provide. As stewards of our natural resources, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council has the responsibility to use sound, science-based catch levels and other conservation measures to ensure a healthy and productive Gulf ecosystem. Please uphold your duty as stewards of our fisheries by taking action now to restore red snapper to healthy levels.

Sincerely,
/Your Name/
/Your Address/
/Your City, State, Zip/

We signed the “Act Now to Save Red Snapper” petition!

# 50:

1:41 pm PDT, May 18, Name not displayed, Ohio

# 49:

1:41 pm PDT, May 18, Catherine Ludlam, New York

# 48:

1:41 pm PDT, May 18, Douglas Kinney, New York

# 47:

1:41 pm PDT, May 18, Caryn Graves, California

# 46:

1:41 pm PDT, May 18, Elizabeth Schwartz, United States Minor Outlying Islands

# 45:

1:40 pm PDT, May 18, Joy Viveros, California

# 44:

1:40 pm PDT, May 18, Laura Daen, Puerto Rico

# 43:

1:40 pm PDT, May 18, Brandie Will, Vermont
There is no reason that we should let an animal die out.

# 42:

1:40 pm PDT, May 18, Tanya Koester-Radmann, Minnesota

# 41:

1:40 pm PDT, May 18, David Joiner, Ohio

# 40:

1:40 pm PDT, May 18, GABRIELLE SUH, New York

# 39:

1:40 pm PDT, May 18, Nicole Perkins, California

# 38:

1:40 pm PDT, May 18, Diana Kleinman, California

# 37:

1:40 pm PDT, May 18, Cynthia Bauer, Pennsylvania
Cynthia Bauer

# 36:

1:40 pm PDT, May 18, Chris Pacifico, Pennsylvania

# 35:

1:40 pm PDT, May 18, Jacqueline Peipert, Illinois
It is imperative that we conserve all natural resources. When the fish are all gone and the waters dead we will be next no doubt about that.

# 34:

1:40 pm PDT, May 18, Tedd Kawakami, California

# 33:

1:40 pm PDT, May 18, Martha Land, California

# 32:

1:40 pm PDT, May 18, Daniel Wilson, Washington

# 31:

1:40 pm PDT, May 18, Kerstin Eggers, Florida

# 30:

1:40 pm PDT, May 18, Carol Hartzell, Illinois

# 29:

1:40 pm PDT, May 18, C. Fridey, New Mexico

# 28:

1:40 pm PDT, May 18, Lawrence Camp, North Carolina

# 27:

1:39 pm PDT, May 18, Jeff Kalinowski, Kansas

# 26:

1:39 pm PDT, May 18, Erik Cirelli, Pennsylvania

# 25:

1:39 pm PDT, May 18, Chad Hawthorne, California

# 24:

1:39 pm PDT, May 18, John Cody, New York

# 23:

1:39 pm PDT, May 18, William Sneiderwine, California

# 22:

1:39 pm PDT, May 18, Judith A. Graham, California

# 21:

1:39 pm PDT, May 18, Terri Camara, Texas

# 20:

1:39 pm PDT, May 18, Andrew Yeager, Nebraska

# 19:

1:39 pm PDT, May 18, Alithea Morasca, California

# 18:

1:39 pm PDT, May 18, Lillian Marino, Washington

# 17:

1:39 pm PDT, May 18, Emily Reep, North Carolina

# 16:

1:38 pm PDT, May 18, Steve Gross, Massachusetts

# 15:

1:38 pm PDT, May 18, Davis Wolf, Florida

# 14:

1:38 pm PDT, May 18, Hillary Solso, Oregon

# 13:

1:38 pm PDT, May 18, Gillian Merlyn, Georgia

# 12:

1:38 pm PDT, May 18, Stephanie Seymour, New Jersey

# 11:

1:38 pm PDT, May 18, Leah Harrison, New Mexico

# 10:

1:37 pm PDT, May 18, Name not displayed, Washington

# 9:

1:37 pm PDT, May 18, Sabrina Gowette, Oregon

# 8:

1:37 pm PDT, May 18, Jaime Dashkevicz, Michigan

# 7:

1:37 pm PDT, May 18, Mageda Merbouh, Ohio

# 6:

1:37 pm PDT, May 18, Timothy Sanders, California

# 5:

1:37 pm PDT, May 18, Leslie Just, New York

# 4:

1:36 pm PDT, May 18, Name not displayed, New Jersey

# 3:

1:36 pm PDT, May 18, Name not displayed, Georgia

# 2:

1:29 pm PDT, May 18, Charlene Nicholson, Kentucky

# 1:

12:12 pm PDT, May 17, Emily Logan, California
We can't just keep trying to empty the oceans of fish. We have to respect these ecosystems, even if it means sacrificing luxuries.

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