Each year, commercial fishing wastes more than 16 billion pounds of fish and kills hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, marine mammals and seabirds. These ocean creatures are needlessly caught and discarded, usually dead or dying, by fishing operations around the world. Under existing laws, the federal government is required to reduce dirty fishing. Yet, nearly a decade after Congress enacted laws addressing dirty fishing, the steps taken have been grossly inadequate. Tell the National Marine Fisheries Service to improve their fragmented and unfocused efforts to reduce dirty fishing, and implement practical strategies that produce real results.

Dear National Marine Fisheries Service,

Under existing laws, the federal government is required to reduce dirty fishing.

There are practical ways to do this. Over the past several decades, managers, scientists, and the fishing industry have identified strategies to avoid and reduce dirty-fishing. These strategies include gear improvements, changes to fishing practices, and time/area closures. However, the Fisheries Service's fragmented and unfocused implementation of these measures has produced few results.

[Your comment]

I would like to urge you to implement practical strategies addressing dirty fishing that produce real results. Ocean life depends on it.

Sincerely,
[Your name here]