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We, the Undersigned, endorse the following petition:

Prevent Long Line Fishing in the Galapagos!

Target: President Rafael Correa, of Ecuador
Sponsor: WildAid
  • Signatures: 4,417
  • Goal: 10,000
  • Deadline: 1-1-2008
Petition Target: President Rafael Correa, Ecuador


The Galapagos Islands, renowned throughout the world for their unique biodiversity, are threatened by a proposal to open protected waters to longlining, a method of fishing usually associated with high levels of bycatch and high pressure on fish stocks.



The Galapagos Marine Reserve is home to a high proportion of species that occur nowhere else on earth. Longlining could be devastating. Given the high numbers of sharks, rays, turtles, sea birds, and sea lions it is inevitable that the bycatch of these animals will be extremely high and will impact populations which are threatened or endangered.








Sign Now to encourage President Rafael Correa of Ecuador to take action now to protect the Galapagos for future generations!


Tell them to stop Long Line Fishing TODAY!


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Number Date Prefix Name State Country Comments
4,417 9:24 am PDT, Jun 23   Heather Connors California United States We are killing our selves by killing sharks! Pretty soon they will be gone and no one will be able to control fish population that eat photoplankton which creates 70% of the world oxygen. Sharks are alive while lims are cut off and sent back to the sea to suffocate. We will be suffocating soon
4,416 11:46 am PDT, Jun 21   Anonymous   Norway  
4,415 2:58 am PDT, Jun 18 Mr. mark ames   United Kingdom  
4,414 6:15 pm PDT, May 27   Karolina Salikier   United Kingdom  
4,413 5:33 am PDT, May 12 Mrs. Deborah Hodgson   Australia Cut out this awful act...the Galapagos should be a sanctuary for all marine life.
4,412 5:20 am PDT, May 9   Nina Cioffi Florida United States Stop pilliging our oceans. The greed is depleting the planet
4,411 6:57 am PDT, May 6   Stoyka Chipchakova   Bulgaria  
4,410 10:21 am PDT, May 5 Ms. Angie Whiteman   United Kingdom  
4,409 7:07 am PDT, Apr 29 Mr. Sean Ferguson   Canada I wanna know, who the hell eats shark fins? I think it's an eastern cultural hoity toity thing - Do they not understand what they are doing to the ecosystem? also, I bet they don't fish in their waters for shark fins cause it's probably ILLEGAL just like it should be. Stop this mass and unrequired killing of sharks and other species on the islands.
4,408 9:59 pm PDT, Apr 23   Stephen Brown   Canada It's crazy!! It needs to stop. Any semi-intelligent person who informs themselves will understand that.
4,407 7:59 am PDT, Apr 16   Ralph Hofman   Netherlands  
4,406 12:00 am PDT, Apr 15 Mrs. Alexandra Douglas   Greece  
4,405 6:35 pm PDT, Apr 7 Ms. Rachel Velasquez North Carolina United States I watched "Shark Water".
4,404 1:10 pm PDT, Apr 7 Mr. Duncan Carson   United Kingdom Long line fishing is indescriminate and should not be used anywhere especially the Galapagos.
4,403 9:12 am PDT, Apr 7   Alisa Schwartz New Jersey United States Charles Darwin travelled to the Galapagos aboard the HMS Beagle, and the divergence of species that he observed in the isolated islands helped set him on the path to the theory of evolution. Jacques Cousteau said "If we go on the way we have, the fault is our greed and if we are not willing to change, we will disappear from the face of the globe, to be replaced by the insect" It is frightening that this great area of eco-diversity is in deep trouble with many of its native species near extinction. What is even more frightening is that we are watching its demise. Protect beautiful Galapagos! Stop long line fishing!
4,402 12:31 am PDT, Mar 25 Mrs. Catherine Gaspard   Belgium  
4,401 4:56 am PDT, Mar 9 Ms. lizzy ellison   United Kingdom Long lining is barbaric and must be stopped now.These innocent creatures that are unfortunate enough to be caught by these lines are subjected to a cruel and slow death, many of which are unwanted catch and thrown back in to the sea injured or dead. Pure barbarism - stop it now
4,400 3:54 pm PST, Mar 1 Mr. Jean-Dominic Laroche   Canada  
4,399 10:01 am PST, Feb 23   Hanna Kelley   Canada Save this world that is disappearing.
4,398 10:35 pm PST, Feb 20   Juan Rodas   Ecuador  
4,397 2:47 pm PST, Feb 10 Mr. kris wirth Idaho United States greed kills
4,396 10:03 am PST, Jan 1 Ms. Anonymous Texas United States Long Line fishing is destroying our wildlife. Fishing can be accomplished by other means.
4,395 6:44 am PST, Dec 24   Anonymous   Switzerland  
4,394 9:48 am PST, Dec 15   Anonymous   Germany Open your eyes!!!
4,393 5:04 pm PST, Dec 5 Mr. Federico Cabrera   Argentina  
4,392 6:12 pm PST, Nov 25   Anonymous   Canada  
4,391 4:36 am PST, Nov 13 Ms. Katy Hooper   United Kingdom The importance of preserving unique wildlife in the Galapagos now, will be in the long term, of far more economic gain to your country setting you aside from other greedy countries that exploited there seas and will be left with nothing.
4,390 2:15 pm PST, Nov 5   Amber Ewing Texas United States  
4,389 7:58 am PST, Nov 3 Ms. Nicole Jubinvile   Canada  
4,388 8:23 pm PDT, Oct 23 Ms. Mariana Ruiz Moreno   Uruguay  
4,387 3:53 pm PDT, Oct 10 Mr. Larry Burnet   Canada My wife and I have been to the Galapagos Islands. We've seen first hand what a disverse culture of land and marine creatures exist on these islands. Why would the government allow such nonsense. The only reason there is such a diversity of wildlife living in harmony on the islands is because of strict controls that have been implemented to protect the animals that can't protect themselve from mankind. Again there isn't anything that the almighty dollar can't ruin. This news is most distressing to say the least. What a planet.
4,386 3:01 pm PDT, Oct 10   John Harder California United States  
4,385 12:17 am PDT, Oct 3   Kristine Robb Washington United States  
4,384 6:17 pm PDT, Sep 17 Mr. Philip Resden Georgia United States  
4,383 7:11 am PDT, Sep 14   Yvette Monnet   France  
4,382 11:09 am PDT, Sep 13 Ms. Sandy Valencour Washington United States  
4,381 8:45 pm PDT, Sep 12   Katheryn Jones   Canada I have not torn down your backyard, don't destroy the worlds
4,380 6:24 pm PDT, Sep 12 Mr. Wouter Vervaet   Belgium  
4,379 4:11 pm PDT, Aug 28 Ms. Tracy Hillmann New York United States  
4,378 12:54 am PDT, Aug 25 Ms. Norah Lu California United States  
4,377 7:14 pm PDT, Aug 24   Anonymous Mississippi United States  
4,376 1:29 am PDT, Aug 22   Anonymous Mississippi United States Please help stop this, before we lose more species. Extinction is forever.
4,375 10:55 am PDT, Aug 14   Anonymous   Canada  
4,374 2:48 pm PDT, Jul 31   greta malkotzoglou   Greece  
4,373 10:36 am PDT, Jul 24   Anonymous New York United States  
4,372 7:44 pm PDT, Jul 23   Jacob Ortiz Florida United States IF YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT DOING LONG LINE FISHING THEN I WOULD THINK ON THE IMPACT IT HAS ON THE ENVIORONMENT AND PEOPLE BEFORE YOU FISH!!!!!
4,371 1:45 pm PDT, Jul 14 Mr. Mick Cave   United Kingdom  
4,370 1:32 pm PDT, Jul 14 Ms. Catherine Hainsworth   United Kingdom  
4,369 11:05 am PDT, Jul 10   Laurel Watson Arizona United States  
4,368 1:01 am PDT, Jul 3 Ms. Ann Cooper   United Kingdom  
4,367 12:16 am PDT, Jun 27 Mr. Anonymous California United States Do not allow this horrific practice to take place in the Galapagos Marine Sanctuary.
4,366 10:39 am PDT, Jun 26 Mr. Todd Cameron   Canada  
4,365 7:02 am PDT, Jun 26   Lindsay Rudd   Australia  
4,364 11:49 am PDT, Jun 23   Giovanni Amorone   Italy  
4,363 6:34 am PDT, Jun 18   jackie bauman   Canada go sharks!!!!!!ya save the sharks.If we start helping them now they will repopulate and wont die so yah!!!sighn the petition!!!!:)
4,362 2:10 am PDT, Jun 18 Ms. Kathy Slack   Canada  
4,361 12:13 pm PDT, Jun 17   Barbara Tatti   Italy  
4,360 4:27 pm PDT, Jun 10 Ms. Whitney Steele Arizona United States  
4,359 12:52 pm PDT, Jun 4   Marisa Sebastian   Spain  
4,358 10:11 pm PDT, May 31 Mr. Anonymous   Canada  
4,357 10:32 am PDT, May 27 Mr. Francisco Lizama California United States  
4,356 7:57 pm PDT, May 26 Ms. sheila maffio Ohio United States  
4,355 4:26 pm PDT, May 24 Mr. ryan skach California United States it's rude not to
4,354 12:15 pm PDT, May 24   elina jaiden California United States It has recently come to my attention that over 90% of Shark population has been destroyed by finning, long-lining, poaching and hunting. Also, that now an animal that has been a part of our ecosystem since before the dinosaurs is facing the threat of extinction. It concerns me that there is so little said in the media or even on various conservation sites to directly address this issue. I am hoping that you can incorporate some information on the global consequences this action is having, and will continue to have on life on land as well as in the sea. I hope that you can help increase public awareness to this devastating issue.  I can see where this concern could be overlooked as a minor one. After all, the shark has been made out to be a man eating monster for generations. However, I do feel that this could be publicly addressed now before the problem becomes irreversible. Also, the way in which the fins are harvested is truly macabre. If one committed the same cruelty to domestic animals (ie: cutting off limbs while still alive and throwing the "worthless" body away until it bleeds to death) without the promise of profit, society would be disgusted and call that behavior nothing short of sociopathic. It sickens me that not only are we depriving our children of a diverse environment but also teaching them to value cash over life. Regardless of what you choose to do or not do, I thank you for your time.
4,353 8:17 am PDT, May 19 Mr. Jovica Bozic   Serbia And Montenegro  
4,352 6:03 pm PDT, May 15   Anonymous Colorado United States  
4,351 2:43 pm PDT, May 15   Sandra Seiça   Portugal  

Prevent Long Line Fishing in the Galapagos!

Petition Target: President Gustavo Noboa, Ecuador

We, the undersigned, applaud the government of Ecuador for its increasing efforts to conserve the Galapagos Marine Reserve and strongly support its designation as a World Heritage Site. However, we urge you not to allow destructive fishing methods, such as longlining, within the Reserve.

The Galapagos Marine Reserve is the second largest marine reserve in the world and home to a wonderful array of marine life, such as whales, dolphins, sea lions, sea birds, sharks, rays and other fauna and flora, much of which is unique to this area.

The Galapagos Islands, renowned throughout the world for their unique biodiversity, are threatened by a proposal to open protected waters to longlining, a method of fishing usually associated with high levels of bycatch and high pressure on fish stocks.



The Marine Reserve is home to a high proportion of species that occur nowhere else on earth. Longlining could be devastating. Given the high numbers of sharks, rays, turtles, sea birds, and sea lions it is inevitable that the bycatch of these animals will be extremely high and will impact populations which are threatened or endangered.



Though the longlines currently being advocated for use inside the Reserve are small-scale, this is unlikely to be economically viable for fishermen used to high returns from sea cucumbers and lobsters. It seems inevitable that pressure would mount to increase the scale and therefore the impact. The history of participatory management in these waters is poor, such as severe overfishing of sea cucumbers, the illegal shark fisheries and riots and vandalism by fishermen against management in the lobster fishery. Opening longlining would likely be an unmitigated disaster.




Sincerely,
The Undersigned

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