SPECIAL PROTECTION FOR ONLY A PERCENTAGE OF THE
SEAS
COULD LEAVE REMAINING WATERS VULNERABLE TO OIL DRILLING
PCFFA Press Release: February 17, 2001
San Francisco, February 17 - The west coast’s largest commercial fishing organization has called today for full protection of all ocean waters, not just a portion of them. The statement was concurrent with a session held by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) on what are marine protected areas or MPAs. AAAS is holding it annual conference this year in San Francisco.
“Our oceans are too important for life on this planet, and for the production of so much of our food, to just set aside a small portion of them - such as 20 or 30 percent for protection,” said Pietro Parravano, a commercial fisherman from Half Moon Bay, California and president of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA). “Establishing protection for just a portion of our oceans will leave the remainder of the waters vulnerable to offshore oil drilling, dumping, carbon sequestration and other activities that will pollute, destroy ocean habitats and life.”
Marine protected areas, which are also referred to as marine refuges, have been promoted as a more effective way of protecting ocean wildlife, biodiversity and even managing fisheries. The fishing groups do not disagree with scientists for the need to protect marine ecosystems, but worries that protecting only designated waters will open the door to new offshore oil drilling, ocean dumping and proposals to use the ocean for carbon sequestration (pumping CO2 into the ocean) as a means of combating global warming, instead of dealing with emissions of greenhouse gases.
“We recognize the need for and support the establishment of some areas to be set aside as refuges, whether permanent or rotating, to benefit resident fish and shellfish populations and ultimately fishermen. Certain types of activities can destroy habitats - such as anchoring on coral reefs or using heavy bottom trawl gear over rocky pinnacles - and are inappropriate and should be prohibited in some areas. We also realize that pristine areas free of any human activity need to be set aside for baseline research,” remarked Glen Spain, who heads the fishing organization’s Northwest office in Eugene, Oregon. “But let’s be clear that setting aside some areas does not mean the rest are sacrifice zones. Our whole ocean, not just a part of it, should be protected.”
The fishing group pointed out that currents, fish and other marine life all move, seldom staying in any one place or within any given boundary. Pollution or an oil spill will as easily spread into a marine refuge or marine protected area as it will to any non-protected area. And, PCFFA notes, that marine protected areas cannot protect against overfishing or poaching.
“Much of our ocean waters are currently off-limits to fishing, but we are still lacking the overall protections against other human activities that can destroy ocean habitat or ocean life,” Parravano continued. “We know how difficult it is to keep an oil spill away from a beach. How are we going to keep them away from protected areas or refuges unless we act to prevent these from occurring in all ocean waters? We appreciate the call of scientists for marine protected areas, but it simply is not enough. We need to protect all of our ocean waters, not just those people want to research or play in.”
“Unfortunately, we have not been good stewards of our oceans and coasts. Rapid coastal population growth and the resulting increase in waste disposal, along with intensive agricultural and industrial pollution on or near shorelines, have damaged reefs and other vital marine habitats. More than two-thirds of the world’s people live in coastal areas, and more than half the world’s coastal wetlands have been destroyed by urban development. The loss of these wetlands may be costing coastal fishing communities as much as 4.7 million tons of fish a year. These pressures, combined with the vast over-capacity of international fishing fleets, have contributed to the well-publicized collapse of major fisheries around the world. Moreover, the erosion of ocean biodiversity is alarming. For the people whose livelihoods depend on our oceans, these trends could spell disaster, pushing thousands into poverty.” ...........Excerpt from: James Gustave Speth, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme, June 1998, Message on World Development Day