For decades, humanity has netted too many fish and trashed the seabed all across our blue planet. But this month we could get a breakthrough to set up a series of sanctuaries where sea life can thrive and live in peace.
Shamefully, the US is blocking a visionary UN plan for protected areas where no fishing is allowed. But, when US Secretary of State John Kerry welcomes other ministers to a global oceans summit in a few days time, we can get him break the gridlock. All it takes is for enough of us let him know his reputation is on the line.
Let’s tell Kerry he has the chance to do something amazing. When one million people sign, Avaaz will deliver the petition directly to him in front of the media on day one of his summit!
Add your voice to save our seas, and share this article and link with everyone you know:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/hope_for_our_oceans/?bdCOJeb&v=40492
Too many high tech fishing boats are catching far too many fish, while pollution and seabed mining also wreak havoc on fragile habitats. And the US is leading a group of countries that are digging in their heels to halt a UN plan for a network of protected sanctuaries in international waters that can restore ocean health.
Washington DC is full of lobbyists who say that US should never bind its hands with UN agreements. But the science is clear that a properly managed set of no fish zones increases fish stocks in the rest of the oceans, it’s a win-win! If Kerry moves this month, other countries will follow, and a UN meeting in a few weeks can start making this ocean plan a reality.
Time and again Avaaz members have rallied to save our precious ocean species, including this time last year when we helped close European ports to Icelandic whale meat. Now it’s time to do it again.
About Avaaz: Meaning “voice” in several European, Middle Eastern and Asian languages, Avaaz launched in 2007 with a simple democratic mission: organize citizens of all nations to close the gap between the world we have and the world most people everywhere want.
Avaaz empowers millions of people from all walks of life to take action on pressing global, regional and national issues, from corruption and poverty to conflict and climate change. Our model of internet organising allows thousands of individual efforts, however small, to be rapidly combined into a powerful collective force. (Read about results on the Victories page – www.avaaz.org/en/highlights.php/?aboutus.)
The Avaaz community campaigns in 15 languages, served by a core team on 6 continents and thousands of volunteers. Avaaz takes action by signing petitions, funding media campaigns and direct actions, emailing, calling and lobbying governments, and organizing “offline” protests and events — to ensure that the views and values of the world’s people inform the decisions that affect us all.
