Blue Marine Foundation’s Post

Bulldozing is bull-crab! We can’t remain silent about it 📢 🚫 Last year, the UK’s offshore marine protected areas were subjected to over 33,000 hours of fishing by vessels equipped with destructive bottom-towed fishing gear, Oceana UK Global Fishing Watch data has revealed. Bottom trawling ‘bulldozing’ destroys essential ocean habitats in minutes, and yet, incredibly destructive fishing is allowed in almost all UK marine protected areas (MPAs). True marine protection is good for both Ocean life and coastal communities, research shows. MPAs are supposed to be sanctuaries for precious marine life, from dolphins to starfish, coral to crabs. We need urgent political action to ban bottom trawling across all MPAs. Help save our seas. Tell the Government to stop bulldozing marine protected areas: https://lnkd.in/euvxFHZf #BacktheBlueBelt #MarineProtection #BottomTrawling

Attention Cabot Strait mariners: Let’s protect North Atlantic right whales together.  We ask that all vessels navigating through Cabot Strait voluntarily reduce their speed to 10 knots from September 25 to November 15. Why? This important slowdown makes a big difference in protecting endangered North Atlantic right whales. They are migrating out of the Gulf of St. Lawrence in large numbers and are vulnerable to ship strikes. Your participation in this slowdown is important to protect this endangered species.  Let’s all work together to ensure their future. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/ecp2RVXc #MarineConservation #NorthAtlanticRightWhales #CabotStrait #ProtectOurOceans #MaritimeSafety #SlowDown

The below map indicates the most recent coastal protections - for Māui and Hector’s dolphins. Dolphin protection is still not sufficient to provide effective protection: The RED area indicates the distribution of the NZ dolphin (Hector’s or Māui). DARK GREEN - indicates areas where dolphins are protected from Trawling. LIGHT GREEN indicates areas where there is protection from gillnets/set nets only. HOWEVER….. On this map, it looks like trawling is banned on the east coast of the South Island (ECSI) from within 2 nautical miles from the coastline, BUT, trawlers with nets of less than 1m high can actively fish in the areas where trawling is supposed to be banned. If inshore trawling within 2nm can be excluded from this area - without an exemption for nets less than 1m high, this would be hugely beneficial for the survival of this native taonga species and for dozens upon dozens of additional marine mammals, and seabirds - too. #nzcps #policychange #rma #taonga #iucn #iucnredlist

Bottom trawling is putting out ocean at risk! This quote from the article spells out exactly why it makes good economic sense! "Any costs incurred by such a ban would also be quickly outweighed by a healthy return on investment. A study of EU MPAs showed net gains after only four years of a ban, for instance, and after 13 years there would be €3.41 returned for every €1 spent." #MPAs #fisheries #oceans #marinespecies #climateaction #future #oceanprotection #30x30 #carbon #marinelife #biodiversity

Despite their designation, many Marine Protected Areas remain vulnerable to the devastating effects of bottom trawling. This practice not only disrupts fragile marine species but directly harms entire ecosystems. 🚢 Trawlers regularly breach the boundaries of MPAs, leaving destruction in their wake. 🎣 Over 90% of discarded fish in EU waters result from bottom trawling, including accidental catches like turtles, sharks, and marine mammals. 🛂 MPAs are hard to manage and police, making real change a challenge. Paper parks won't save our seas. It’s time to end bottom trawling in Marine Protected Areas. Your voice can drive change. Sign the appeal below to demand action and help us ensure that protection truly means protected. Let’s work together for the ocean, for our planet, and for future generations. Please urge the EU Commission to Ban Destructive Fishing in Protected Waters: https://lnkd.in/eeTtQHj2 Oceana in Europe North Sails #BanBottomTrawling #LookDeeper #WorldOceansDay

Despite their designation, many Marine Protected Areas remain vulnerable to the devastating effects of bottom trawling. This practice not only disrupts fragile marine species but directly harms entire ecosystems. 🚢 Trawlers regularly breach the boundaries of MPAs, leaving destruction in their wake. 🎣 Over 90% of discarded fish in EU waters result from bottom trawling, including accidental catches like turtles, sharks, and marine mammals. 🛂 MPAs are hard to manage and police, making real change a challenge. Paper parks won't save our seas. It’s time to end bottom trawling in Marine Protected Areas. Your voice can drive change. Sign the appeal below to demand action and help us ensure that protection truly means protected. Let’s work together for the ocean, for our planet, and for future generations. Please urge the EU Commission to Ban Destructive Fishing in Protected Waters: https://lnkd.in/eeTtQHj2 Oceana in Europe North Sails #BanBottomTrawling #LookDeeper #WorldOceansDay

Despite their designation, many Marine Protected Areas remain vulnerable to the devastating effects of bottom trawling. This practice not only disrupts fragile marine species but directly harms entire ecosystems. 🚢 Trawlers regularly breach the boundaries of MPAs, leaving destruction in their wake. 🎣 Over 90% of discarded fish in EU waters result from bottom trawling, including accidental catches like turtles, sharks, and marine mammals. 🛂 MPAs are hard to manage and police, making real change a challenge. Paper parks won't save our seas. It’s time to end bottom trawling in Marine Protected Areas. Your voice can drive change. Sign the appeal below to demand action and help us ensure that protection truly means protected. Let’s work together for the ocean, for our planet, and for future generations. Please urge the EU Commission to Ban Destructive Fishing in Protected Waters: https://lnkd.in/eeTtQHj2 Oceana in Europe North Sails #BanBottomTrawling #LookDeeper #WorldOceansDay

Despite their designation, many Marine Protected Areas remain vulnerable to the devastating effects of bottom trawling. This practice not only disrupts fragile marine species but directly harms entire ecosystems. 🚢 Trawlers regularly breach the boundaries of MPAs, leaving destruction in their wake. 🎣 Over 90% of discarded fish in EU waters result from bottom trawling, including accidental catches like turtles, sharks, and marine mammals. 🛂 MPAs are hard to manage and police, making real change a challenge. Paper parks won't save our seas. It’s time to end bottom trawling in Marine Protected Areas. Your voice can drive change. Sign the appeal below to demand action and help us ensure that protection truly means protected. Let’s work together for the ocean, for our planet, and for future generations. Please urge the EU Commission to Ban Destructive Fishing in Protected Waters: https://lnkd.in/eeTtQHj2 Oceana in Europe North Sails #BanBottomTrawling #LookDeeper #WorldOceansDay

Meet Dr. Nancy Foster Scholar, Grace Casselberry. Grace protects the ocean's top predators while studying the interactions between great hammerhead sharks and Atlantic tarpon in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The information she collects will indicate where hammerheads take advantage of tarpon fishing in the national marine sanctuary, and help resource managers and fishing guides reduce this interaction. Learn more about this important research in her Story from the Blue. #RecreationalFishing #Conservation #FloridaKeys

Thanks to restoration efforts from NFWF grantee Island Conservation, rare Peruvian diving-petrels have returned to nest on Pajaros Uno Island in Chile. These diving-petrels haven’t been seen on the island in decades, but following Island Conservation’s work to remove invasive predators and employ social attraction techniques, these vital seabirds are back! This milestone not only ensures the survival of these birds, but also revitalizes the island’s entire ecosystem. Our Seabirds Program is soliciting proposals to improve populations of focal seabird species and other species like the Peruvian diving petrel through actions that increase survival and reproduction. Learn more >> https://loom.ly/EqPiZ0Y Funding support for this initiative comes from the United States Marine Corps, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and private funding sources. #conservation #wildlife #seabird #grantopportunity