November 6, 2012
CEO Note: Health of the Oceans a Non-partisan Issue
BY: Andy Sharpless
Election Day in the United States is here, and I often get asked – what are the politics of the ocean? Is one side better at protecting the oceans than the other? Where does Oceana stand?
The answer may surprise you: The oceans are truly a non-partisan issue and Oceana is, as a result, truly a non-partisan organization. We stand with the oceans, which requires working wherever there are ocean champions – and there are champions (and enemies) on all sides of the political spectrum around the world. We have to be non-partisan to be effective and achieve our mission, which is to win policy victories for the seas in a three to five year time horizon.
Oceana’s ten plus years of campaigning for the oceans bears this out; our biggest victories have come from working with conservatives, liberals and middle of the roaders. President George W. Bush, along with his United States Trade Representative Rob Portman, were big champions behind our efforts to curb destructive fishing subsidies and helped us get the issue on the map at the World Trade Organization. We worked with Senator John Kerry and Senator John McCain to protect sharks. President Sebastián Piñera, Chile’s conservative leader, was a driving force behind Oceana’s historic victory in winning the designation of Sala y Gómez and Easter Island as one of the biggest protected areas in the world. We’ve had knock-down drag-out fights on fisheries regulation in New England with the liberal Congressman Barney Frank and then worked with him to combat seafood fraud. We both fought and worked closely with the late great Republican leader Senator Ted Stevens, who played a big role in helping Oceana protect over a million square miles of ocean. In Belize, we’ve worked with a liberal government on the protection of all Belizean waters, the home of the second largest barrier reef in the world, and with the conservative opposition on opposing offshore oil drilling. I could go on and on.
As a result, Oceana’s staff, board and supporters come from all parts of the political spectrum. If you look closely, you’ll find passionate supporters, in their personal lives, of President Obama, Governor Romney and others at all levels of the organization. And you will also find that all of us are very proud – and protective – of Oceana’s non-partisan status and success in working across the aisle. I hope that you, as an Oceana supporter and friend, share this pride in Oceana’s effectiveness and non-partisan nature.
So, where does that leave us with the election? Well, it means that we are very much NOT involved in elections. It is not only because of our non-profit status, it is also because we truly believe that ultimately we will need to work with any and all parties to win our campaigns. That said, I encourage all of you to go and vote for the candidate of your choice, and to help us engage whoever wins in the work needed to protect our seas.