Save the Saury
An amazing web of life teems beneath the blue waters of California's beaches. Whales, dolphins, and seals are among the profusion of ocean wildlife supported by a healthy and productive marine ecosystem.
Now you can help protect a productive ocean! Please ask California's top fish and wildlife manager to protect a key link in a vibrant Pacific Ocean.
Iconic animals like whales and sea lions depend on lesser-known but vital species called forage fish. It's crucial that we leave enough forage fish in the water to sustain a healthy ocean.
Pacific saury is one important species of forage fish that remains on a list of authorized fisheries maintained by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC). This means that commercial fishing could begin on the saury at any time with no restrictions.
It's time for the council to change that. Please ask California's representative to the PFMC to stand up for this little fish. It's a big deal in the water.
Dear Director Bonham,
Thank you for your leadership in the Pacific Fishery Management Council's unanimous decision to adopt a Fishery Ecosystem Plan that begins to consider how everything is connected in the ocean. This is truly a milestone in modern fishery management. Let's not undermine this remarkable accomplishment by clearing the way for a new commercial fishery for Pacific saury, a forage fish that's an especially important food source for migratory sharks, tunas and seabirds such as the sooty shearwater.
California has already demonstrated leadership by adopting a state policy just last year to hold off new fisheries targeting forage fish - like saury - until evaluating the effect on the rest of the ocean food web. The last thing we should do is protect forage fish in state waters, then turn around and permit fishermen to fish first and ask questions later in federal waters farther offshore.
The Council should immediately update its list of current fisheries to be consistent with the new ecosystem plan, which prioritizes the protection of unmanaged forage fish as its first order of business.
An abundance of forage fish helps to maintain the marine environment we all care about. It makes good sense that the ecosystem plan's top priority is to protect saury and other currently unmanaged forage fish species because they are linked to so many strands of the ocean's food web.
[Your comments here]
Thank you for considering my comments and for your continued commitment to a productive marine environment in California and across the West Coast.
Sincerely,
[Your name here]
