Since 2001, Oceana has achieved dozens of concrete policy victories for marine life and habitats. From stopping bottom trawling in sensitive habitat areas to protecting sea turtles from commercial fishing gear, our victories represent a new hope for the world's oceans.
President Bush's U.S. Ocean Action Plan is his response to the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, which stated that our oceans are in crisis and outlined a strategy to protect deep-sea corals.
California Governor Schwarzenegger signed a law that will further protect California's valuable Pacific waters from destructive fishing practices. Senate Bill 1459, sponsored by Senator Dede Alpert (D-San Diego) and approved by a bipartisan majority in both houses, ensures that fishing with bottom trawl nets that are dragged along the seafloor is conducted in a manner that protects marine life in waters off the California coast.
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council unanimously voted to accept the recent New England council decision to protect deep-sea coral communities in New England and Mid-Atlantic sub-marine canyons from destructive monkfish bottom trawling gear. These decisions are the first indication that fishery managers are using new scientific research to protect invaluable marine life, such as deep-sea corals.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger delivered a major victory for the oceans by signing into law two critically important ocean protection bills. These bills will prohibit the cruise industry from dumping sewage from toilets and sewage from sinks and showers into state waters.
Oceana CEO Andy Sharpless received a letter from Royal Caribbean CEO Richard Fain committing his company to installing advanced wastewater treatment technology on all of its ships. The commitment was the culmination of an eleven month campaign Oceana had waged to convince Royal Caribbean, the second largest cruise company in the world, to stop dumping inadequately treated waste in the oceans. Royal Caribbean is the first cruise company to commit to upgrading sewage and wastewater treatment fleet-wide.
Oceana hailed Congress's decision to more than double the funding for federal fishery observer programs. Fishery observers are independent scientists who work alongside fishermen at sea to collect data on what is caught incidentally and thrown overboard. This increase in funding, made in the 2004 Omnibus Appropriations Bill, is a significant first step towards improved management of our nation's fisheries.
Oceana successfully pressured the government to require larger TEDs (turtle excluder devices) in shrimp nets in the Gulf of Mexico and south Atlantic Ocean, saving an estimated 60,000 sea turtles a year.
Seismic airgun blasting threatens marine life, coastal communities and local economies.
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Kate Mara says it’s time to get deadly drift gillnets out of the water, and help save the whales. Add your name now before more whales lose their lives in these indiscriminate nets.
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