IUU Fishing and Ocean
Acidification – Sea Port’s Letter to Congress:
Dear Senator Reid, Speaker
Boehner, Senator McConnell, and Representative Pelosi,
Sea Port Products Corp is a
member of a diverse group of stakeholders that share a common interest in
healthy U.S. fisheries that support a robust domestic seafood industry and
vibrant coastal communities. We are writing to urge you to support and quickly
pass the International Fisheries Stewardship and Enforcement Act (S. 269/ H.R.
69) and the Pirate Fishing Elimination Act (S. 267) and to ratify the Port State
Measures Agreement. These bipartisan
bills and the agreement would improve the detection and prosecution of illegal
fishing on the high seas, keep suspected foreign illegal fishers out of U.S.
ports, and protect U.S. fishermen, our domestic seafood supply, and enhance the
sustainability of global marine fisheries.
While we overwhelmingly
support the passing of S. 269/H.R. 69, S. 267, and the Port State Measures
Agreement, Sea Port would like to bring to your attention the larger crisis of
emerging ocean acidification. We believe
that the increase in ocean acidity and global warming caused by the record
levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere could have profound negative effects
on the entire world’s fisheries that dwarf the current regulatory issues of
illegal fishing, overfishing, and bycatch.
The global burning of fossil
fuels, wood, and other organic matter to provide energy for a growing world
population produces an ever-increasing concentration of atmospheric CO2 that
both warms and acidifies our oceans.
Ocean acidification is inhibiting the ability of shellfish larvae and
certain plankton to incorporate calcium into their bodies to assure their
proper development and survival. It is possible
that the emerging negative consequences of ocean acidification will make all
historical overfishing damages look tame by comparison.
Thank you for your
consideration of passing S.269/H.R.69 & S.267 and the agreement. In addition, thank you for considering the much
wider focused perspective that identifies the increasing atmospheric
concentration of CO2 and the emerging negative impacts it has on the entire world’s
marine ecosystems.
Note to Sea Port’s industry partners/customers: Please use all or any portion of this letter
to voice your support for these bills directly with your Congressional &
House Representatives.
Please feel free to leave any comments or opinions.
