To protect emperor penguins, we must take steps right now to combat the growing threats they face. We need to change the way we fish, and do everything in our power to curb pollution and global warming.
Although Antarctica may seem a world away, our actions have a direct impact on the amount of global fish populations. If we hope to increase the amount of fish in the ocean — in Antarctica and elsewhere — we need to start by changing how we manage our our own fisheries.
Under existing laws, the U.S. federal government is required to reduce dirty fishing. But the National Marine Fisheries Service — the federal agency responsible for the management of U.S. fisheries — have not taken big enough steps forward in reducing the needless catch of marine life.
The good news is over the past several decades, fishery managers, scientists and the fishing industry have identified strategies to avoid and reduce dirty fishing. These strategies include gear improvements, changes to fishing practices, and time and area closures. However, the fisheries service has been slow in implementing real changes to reduce bycatch. Oceana is calling on the federal government to utilize the three C's to combat dirty fishing: count, cap and control.
The second fishing practice contributing to shrinking fish populations is bottom trawling. Bottom trawling is to oceans what clearcutting is to forests. Heavy nets wipe out the ocean floor, obliterating everything in their path including deep-sea corals and sponges. The seafloor serves as the ocean's foundation and this destruction impacts a variety of marine wildlife.
Oceana is working to reduce the impacts of bottom trawlers by setting the boundaries where bottom trawlers and dredgers are able to fish without harming sensitive bottom habitat.