Stop Trawling to Save the Blobfish
- von: Care2.com
- empfänger: Hon. Bryan Green and Hon. Brian Wightman
Considering we've only explored deep sea area roughly the size of Paris, it's vital we protect the little life we have encountered. Endangered blobfish, whose skin allows them to float just above the ocean floor, are one kind of fish we've only recently discovered - and their obscurity could be a death sentence.
Blobfish are unique to the waters surrounding Australia and Tasmania and live up to 900 m. under the sea.
Living at such depths has made blobfish extremely vulnerable to fishing efforts that don't take them or their food sources into account. In fact, until trawlers started dragging dead blobfish to the surface, the fish were so rare that no Australian even recognized them.
Instances of trawlers forcing blobfish from their deep sea homes have only increased over the years. We could drive the blobfish to extinction before we even properly learn about them - or their neighbors.
Tell the Hon. Keith Ashfield to protect deep sea life by ending trawling in the blobfish's known habitats!
Hon. Keith Ashfield,
Ever since more blobfish have surfaced as bycatch from trawling, I've been concerned for the other deep-sea creatures ecologists know very little-- if anything-- about. The dangers of trawling extend past our current understanding of ocean life, and we could be harming habitats beyond repair before we even know they exist.
[Your comments here]I urge you to consider spreading awareness about deep-sea research and protections currently in place for animals like the blobfish. I also hope that, when making decisions about trawlers, you continue to consider the devastating effects of trawling in parts of the world that we have yet to truly understand.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
