Everything is connected, and nowhere is that more true than in the ocean.
The world’s ocean is responsible for regulating temperature and climate across the globe. Every second breath of oxygen we take on land began with photosynthesizing organisms in some healthy ocean space.In the Bering Sea - where the US catches more fish than anywhere else – long lived coral and sponge communities provide fish and marine life with shelter and nurseries, feeding and spawning grounds.
Industrial fishing gear now reaches these once-safe far away depths in their search of ever more fish sticks to feed the world. When coral and sponge habitat that has formed over hundreds of years are uprooted or crushed by heavy fishing gear – we expect there is a price being paid deep in ocean. Fish need nurseries, refuges, and spawning grounds if they are to grow up and swim into the mouths of Fur seals, albatross, and fishermen’s nets. It’s all connected.
Northern fur seal populations have been steadily declining in the region for decades, without rebound. Indigenous Aleut communities bordering the Bering Sea face ever greater difficulty locating their subsistence foods, once plentiful and close to shore.
We have learned the hard way that the ocean is not inexhaustible. The majority of large fish have been fished out of the sea. The impacts of climate change are being felt in the ocean and scientists don’t yet know what the full consequences will be.We must take a precautionary approach and set aside representative portions of critical habitat – such as in the Bering Sea Canyons – as an insurance policy for our future.
Help today by signing our petition to create protections for the Bering Sea Canyons. Fishery managers need to hear from people who want to see our fisheries and our ocean protected, and not just exploited for their short term bounty.
The future depends on it.