Save U.S. fisheries-stop the dead zone/dams.

The U.S. commercial fishing industry in the lower 48 states has been destroyed by dam building and fertilizer/pesticides run-off from farming.

http://www.underwatertimes.com/news.php?article_id=86427910150

The East Coast and Gulf Coasts waters of the United States are 2 of the largest coastal dead zones on earth because of fertilizer/pesticides run-off and damming of rivers which stops game fish from reproducing.

View worldwide coastal dead zones below:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/media/inline/2008-08-15_bigMap.jpg


http://www.earth-policy.org/index.php?/plan_b_updates/2004/update41

The dead zone in the southern coast of the United States where the Mississippi River drains pesticides and fertilizers into the Gulf of Mexico from midwest farms and lawns is the size of New Jersey. There are very few fish there anymore.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/science/july-dec08/oceans_08-15.html

These U.S. coastal dead zones can be seen from space by infrared satellite because of the lack of oxygen in these waters caused by algae blooms which are caused by fertilizer which accelerates the growth of these algaes in the Gulf of Mexico and East Coast waters.

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2006/10/20/gallery/deadzone_zoom.jpg

Fish and crustaceans cannot survive in these oxygen free zones......ask Louisiana fisherman about this. This is a well known fact documented and studied by scientist from all over the world for many years, the information on these dead zones is all over the internet for anyone to read and research.

The bulk of the U.S. commercial fishing industry that still exists in the USA is primarily in Alaska, where dam building and fertilizer/pesticide use has been minimal.

The value of the U.S. fishing industry in the lower 48 states is potentially larger than any other industry in the U.S. if dam removal and pesticide/fertilizer restrictions are implemented so fisheries can recover from this ongoing assault. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fishing_industry_in_the_United_States

There are currently 8,000-75,000 large dams in the U.S. depending on definition and by some estimates over one million small dams. The estimates vary but the numbers are very large regardless. These dams prevent multiple species of large and valuable gamefish from swimming up rivers to spawning grounds to lay eggs/reproduce. These same fish are also valuable prey species eaten by multiple species of valuable ocean gamefish. When these river fish decline.....ocean fish also decline for lack of prey.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_reservoirs_and_dams_in_the_United_States

The Rio Grande River which flows out of the Rocky Mountains to our border with Mexico and then out into the Gulf of Mexico, no longer makes it to the Gulf of Mexico but dries up before it gets there, because of dams and water diversions for agriculture and industry. This is extremely damaging to Gulf of Mexico fisheries as well as heating up Gulf waters which potentially increases hurricane intensity. The same scenario holds true for the Colorado River which used to empty out into the Gulf of California in Mexico but no longer makes it, the enormous marsh/fisheries that once existed there are now dried up and dead. 

http://www.counterpunch.org/colorado.html

Current coastal and river fish takes in the lower 48 states are conservatively estimated to be 1/10 to 1/30th what they could be if dam removal and restrictions on pesticides and fertilizers run-off were implemented in the U.S. This is based on historical records and documentation of past catches, as well as eye witness accounts of fish runs in the U.S. previous to dam building and large scale pesticides/fertilizers usage.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090217141813.htm

These measures if implemented could eventually lead to the full recovery of the commercial fishing industry in the lower 48 states of the U.S. and increase the U.S. commercial fishing industry from it's current value of $32 billion a year, mostly in Alaska, to a trillion dollars a year or more as worldwide demand for fish skyrockets because of increases in river and coastal waters/eco-systems destruction in countries with poor or no environmental regulations to protect rivers, fish or coastal areas.

http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1066933.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN14336258

Although many foreign governments have such environmental regulations they are too weak or too impoverished to enforce them, we in the U.S. don't have to be part of this club of weak governments and their resulting destroyed fisheries, rivers and coastal areas.

Hundreds of millions of dollars of fish are poached from Somalian waters every year by foreign fishing trawlers because Somalia's weak government has no ability to protect it's own coastal waters or regulate toxic dumping into Somalian waters.

Protecting our rivers, coasts and fisheries is a win-win for the U.S. commercial fishing industry, tourism, sport fishing, and affordable fish for all Americans. The influx of money and resources back into the U.S. from restoring the lower 48 fisheries is potentially astronomical and it's not that complicated or difficult.......remove dams to allow increased fish spawning as more wind and solar power continues to come online and dams become unneccesary, and then implement better regulation of pesticides and fertilizer run-offs into our rivers and coastal areas that kills fish.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power

Another part of the solution is to buy organic foods.

As large organic/natural food retailers like Whole Foods become more common across the U.S. buying organic vegetables, fruit, grains and meat is easier than ever. Buying organic foods free of pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides creates demand for organic foods and pushes other large retailers to develop organic food lines and creates pressure on large in-organic industrial farm corporations to utilize organic farming methods. 

Also refraining from using pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers on our lawns. Although not using these chemicals on our lawns will cause our grass to be less lush and green, our rivers and coastal areas will be full of fish and other wildlife. The water pollution from private lawns in the U.S. and worldwide is enormous and unneccesary.

As the U.S. rivers, coasts and fisheries recover from the damage that has been inflicted on them over the years from dams, fertilizers and pesticides, billions of dollars as well as jobs in sport fishing, tourism, fish processing etc. willl flow back into the U.S. economy. These and many other fishing related industries are already huge but have the potential to be much larger and more profitable if we manage our natural resources responsibly.

http://www.e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2194

http://e360.yale.edu/

Healthier U.S. river and coastal waters/fisheries means a wealthier United States.

We can do it !!!

E-mail contacts for U.S. senators in all 50 states below. Let them know how you feel about this issue:  

http://www.theorator.com/senate.html