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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: Ongoing...
goal: 15,000

10,798
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!

# 10,801:

3:09 pm PDT, Jul 3, Annalisa Nipoti, Italy

# 10,800:

9:10 am PDT, Jul 3, Christine LESIEUR, France

# 10,799:

12:05 pm PDT, Jul 1, Sherri O'Connor, Canada

# 10,798:

2:52 pm PDT, Jun 27, Lori Baquero, Florida

# 10,797:

12:38 am PDT, Jun 20, Marvin Rodriguez, Texas

# 10,796:

12:59 pm PDT, Jun 18, William Styles, Ohio

# 10,795:

8:04 pm PDT, Jun 10, Angelo Feldkamp, Wisconsin

# 10,794:

10:25 am PDT, Jun 8, Sam L, New Jersey

# 10,793:

3:52 pm PDT, May 31, Shannon Miller, Pennsylvania

# 10,792:

5:28 pm PDT, May 25, Natalie A. Carter, Ohio

# 10,791:

4:05 pm PDT, May 24, Name not displayed, United Kingdom

# 10,790:

4:58 pm PDT, May 7, Laurel Burns, Maine

# 10,789:

8:53 am PDT, May 5, Rachel Vittles, United Kingdom

# 10,788:

6:57 pm PDT, May 2, Manuela Ramirez, Germany

# 10,787:

1:02 pm PDT, May 1, Andrea Townsley, Florida

# 10,786:

9:53 pm PDT, Apr 30, Tasha Carrigan, Canada

# 10,785:

5:31 pm PDT, Apr 29, Cecy V. Aguirre López, Mexico
Oceans belong to every people in the world not Countries... stop been so greedy

# 10,784:

1:11 pm PDT, Apr 25, Tabitha McCoy, Florida

# 10,783:

6:19 pm PDT, Apr 21, Kristina McArdle, United Kingdom

# 10,782:

8:41 am PDT, Apr 20, Nancy Okita, Illinois

# 10,781:

9:25 am PDT, Apr 18, Helene Johnson, Florida

# 10,780:

4:05 pm PDT, Apr 17, Charles Driskill, Texas
One more nail in the coffin of the former good ol' USA.

# 10,779:

2:50 am PDT, Apr 15, Carina Nilsson, Sweden

# 10,778:

10:44 am PDT, Apr 13, Samantha Kinstle, Virginia

# 10,777:

12:22 am PDT, Apr 13, Cassandra Jackson, Arkansas

# 10,776:

10:15 am PDT, Apr 12, Isabella Coelho, Brazil

# 10,775:

9:50 am PDT, Apr 10, Name not displayed, Bulgaria

# 10,774:

8:20 am PDT, Apr 10, Richard Michael Brugger Jr, New York

# 10,773:

4:57 am PDT, Apr 10, Barbara Rurale, Italy

# 10,772:

5:17 pm PDT, Apr 9, Gillian Miller, United Kingdom
The oceans belong to the whole world, not just a few arrogant countries who believe the world belongs to them. The health & well-bring of the entire planet relies on the marine ecostructure which we are destroying at an accelerating rate. Protect our future by protecting our oceans.

# 10,771:

1:31 pm PDT, Apr 8, Artur Czubinski, Poland
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

# 10,770:

10:14 am PDT, Apr 8, Lucy Reeves, United Kingdom

# 10,769:

6:23 am PDT, Apr 8, ROBIN MCKAY, Kentucky

# 10,768:

4:13 pm PDT, Apr 7, Gina Cogeasca, United Kingdom

# 10,767:

7:03 am PDT, Apr 7, LuCy J. Boogaard, Netherlands

# 10,766:

6:45 am PDT, Apr 7, Elissa Weindling, New York
The oceans are not ours to divide. They are for all of us.

# 10,765:

4:41 am PDT, Apr 7, Anna Hickl, Germany

# 10,764:

4:30 am PDT, Apr 7, Carrie L., Canada

# 10,763:

8:49 pm PDT, Apr 6, Bill McGlone, Connecticut

# 10,762:

2:33 pm PDT, Apr 6, Gail Dair, Australia

# 10,761:

2:17 pm PDT, Apr 6, Debora Santo, Serbia And Montenegro

# 10,760:

2:10 pm PDT, Apr 6, Fenix Melly, South Africa

# 10,759:

2:01 pm PDT, Apr 6, Christine Pearson, Arizona

# 10,758:

10:19 am PDT, Apr 6, Jyotsna V, India

# 10,757:

12:24 am PDT, Apr 6, Lashitha Sanjeev, India

# 10,756:

10:12 pm PDT, Apr 5, Saurab Marjara, India
save the oceans!!!

# 10,755:

4:06 pm PDT, Apr 5, Bradley Zahrobsky, Iowa

# 10,754:

9:14 am PDT, Apr 3, Teresita Garza, Florida

# 10,753:

9:04 pm PDT, Apr 2, Dannielle Philipson, Canada

# 10,752:

1:37 am PDT, Apr 2, Megan Kestel, Kentucky

# 10,751:

12:28 pm PDT, Apr 1, Amber Kelsey, Texas

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