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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!

# 15,400:

6:36 am PDT, May 29, Jivette Dejesus, Puerto Rico

# 15,399:

5:50 am PDT, May 29, Kerri Conger, Alabama

# 15,398:

5:20 am PDT, May 29, Jenni Kerteston, Canada

# 15,397:

3:58 am PDT, May 29, DONNIE MCLAUGHLIN, Florida

# 15,396:

3:02 am PDT, May 29, Claudia Librizzi, Spain

# 15,395:

12:49 am PDT, May 29, Sonja Andreas, Oregon

# 15,394:

12:18 am PDT, May 29, Chrissy Sepulveda, California

# 15,393:

11:37 pm PDT, May 28, Michael Edwards, Arkansas

# 15,392:

10:59 pm PDT, May 28, John McLane, Texas

# 15,391:

10:44 pm PDT, May 28, Nadia Donato, New York

# 15,390:

10:34 pm PDT, May 28, Markus Herrmann, Austria

# 15,389:

9:37 pm PDT, May 28, Eileen Bowen, New York

# 15,388:

9:26 pm PDT, May 28, Dana Householder, Florida

# 15,387:

8:25 pm PDT, May 28, Daynna Lentz, Canada

# 15,386:

8:08 pm PDT, May 28, Sarah Eubank, Virginia

# 15,385:

7:57 pm PDT, May 28, Name not displayed, Colorado

# 15,384:

7:37 pm PDT, May 28, Name not displayed, California

# 15,383:

6:53 pm PDT, May 28, Ali James, Georgia

# 15,382:

6:44 pm PDT, May 28, Charles Groves, California

# 15,381:

6:31 pm PDT, May 28, Annette Almazan, New York

# 15,380:

6:18 pm PDT, May 28, Paul Damian, Illinois

# 15,379:

6:05 pm PDT, May 28, Name not displayed, Michigan

# 15,378:

6:05 pm PDT, May 28, Stephanie Wippel, Colorado

# 15,377:

5:58 pm PDT, May 28, Sam Williams, Colorado
Leave the red snappers alone! What did they ever do to you? They were here first and they are a lot better then stupid fisherman!

# 15,376:

5:37 pm PDT, May 28, Katherine Kaiser, Virginia
Please take a stand - protect the wildlife you are here to protect. Act now to prevent further depletion and do everything that you can to help restore the population to sustainable levels.

# 15,375:

5:16 pm PDT, May 28, Lynda Caines, United Kingdom

# 15,374:

5:05 pm PDT, May 28, Georgia Braithwaite, Arizona
Healthy water management or we all are going to die

# 15,373:

4:49 pm PDT, May 28, Anne Marie Cardinal, Arizona
Please have the courage to control our hold on the environment and put necessary restrictions on fishing of redsnapper

# 15,372:

4:05 pm PDT, May 28, Rebecca Morris, Ohio

# 15,371:

3:42 pm PDT, May 28, Connie Korbel, California
No resource is infinite if we do not manage our consumption, including the red snapper. Please do what you must to end overfishing.

# 15,370:

3:27 pm PDT, May 28, Michele Rajotte, Rhode Island

# 15,369:

3:10 pm PDT, May 28, Lora Roode, Colorado

# 15,368:

2:57 pm PDT, May 28, Tammi Stolpe, Colorado

# 15,367:

2:42 pm PDT, May 28, Pauline Houzard, Guadeloupe

# 15,366:

2:35 pm PDT, May 28, Bevin Harris, California

# 15,365:

12:51 pm PDT, May 28, Lauri Slenning, Arizona

# 15,364:

12:32 pm PDT, May 28, Tina Seay, Wyoming
We need to stop over fishing and polluting of our waters period. It is time for an international appeal for the health of the planet.

# 15,363:

12:20 pm PDT, May 28, Eric Hawes, Rhode Island

# 15,362:

12:09 pm PDT, May 28, Maxine Lobel, Connecticut

# 15,361:

11:44 am PDT, May 28, J. Lane Goetsch, Texas
Every ocean species is critical to our survival and to the survival of Earth as we know it. Please act now.

# 15,360:

11:10 am PDT, May 28, Erin Ster, New Jersey

# 15,359:

10:54 am PDT, May 28, Name not displayed, New Hampshire

# 15,358:

10:54 am PDT, May 28, Melissa C., California
The decrease of species will harm us all in the end. This is leading towards the lack of beauty in the world.

# 15,357:

10:46 am PDT, May 28, Cheryl Toth, Arizona

# 15,356:

10:37 am PDT, May 28, Kaitlin Hoffman, Illinois

# 15,355:

10:23 am PDT, May 28, George Chernetz, New Jersey
Global warming is bad enough but the deliberate over fishing can be easily stopped.Enforce restictions on Commercial fishing,not recreational fishing.

# 15,354:

10:11 am PDT, May 28, Michelle L. Seveigny, Delaware
Haven't we lost enough!!!

# 15,353:

10:01 am PDT, May 28, Larissa Lefebvre, Canada

# 15,352:

9:40 am PDT, May 28, Jennifer Kelly, Colorado

# 15,351:

9:35 am PDT, May 28, Timothy Brown, Oregon

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