Governments Ignore 1100 Scientists from 70 Countries Why?

We have to do something now before its too late.

The United Nations called for a ban on all dragnet fishing. Fisheries and Oceans Canada has thus far ignored this pleas to protect the ocean floors, despite scientific evidence that show that coral and other bottom dwelling organisms provide the basis for the existence of life in the ocean.

Since 2004, over 1,100 scientists from 70 countries, including Japan, have called for a provisional ban on bottom trawling.

Bottom trawling refers to a method of fishing involving boats pulling large nets at a depth of 500 meters to 2,000 meters. Most dragnet fishermen, including those from European nations, Russia, China, South Korea and Japan, have been using this method in recent years.

Members of both the CCAMLR and NAFO agreed unanimously to impose the bans, which come into force with immediate effect, the officials said. The CCAMLR comprises 24 countries and organizations, and NAFO 13 countries and regions.

The bans cover nearly the entire area of the Antarctic Sea as well as four areas in the northwestern Atlantic, including one surrounding an undersea mountain off Canada's Newfoundland, they said.

In addition, the two bodies decided to prohibit catches of sharks and some other fish to protect stocks from depletion, they said.

It is rare for an international body in charge of conserving maritime resources to produce an agreement of this sort concerning fishing activities in open seas.

The decisions indicate that the international community is putting greater emphasis on efforts to conserve maritime resources.

The member states of the United Nations, whose plenary session is currently under way, are also deliberating on proposals to regulate deep-sea trawling.

Encouraged by the two multilateral bodies' decisions, the U.N. session may come up with even more stringent regulatory steps, the officials said.

The CCAMLR, which wrapped up its latest session in Australia on Nov. 3, decided to impose the ban on bottom trawling around Antarctica for the period to 2009.

The body also decided to ask its Scientific Committee to conduct an investigation into the matter with an eye to having the panel deliberate in 2009 on whether to extend the ban, they said.

NAFO decided at its September meeting in Canada to provisionally ban commercial fishing in the areas surrounding four undersea mountains in the northwestern Atlantic, the officials said.

NAFO members will hold talks on whether to continue the ban at a meeting slated for 2010 after members conduct research on the effects of fishing on the state of living creatures in the areas surrounding the undersea mountains, they said. The effects of bottom trawling will also be examined.

An official at Japan's Fisheries Agency said the Japanese government has endorsed the recent decisions by the two international bodies as they called for only provisional bans.

But the official cautioned, "We are opposed to banning trawling without having scientific grounds."

A quote form the Greenpeace website:
Ancient forests in danger ... deep under the ocean. Biologists estimate that somewhere between 500,000 and 5,000,000 marine species have yet to be discovered. But many of these species are in serious danger from the world's most destructive fishing practice - bottom trawling(drag netting) This is truly the last undiscovered wilderness left on the planet.
Unfortunately, the commercial fishing industry has gotten to know about the rich pickings that exist in deep waters. The industry has extended its unsustainable fishing practices into previously unexploited deep waters and seamounts using a technique called bottom trawling.

Bottom trawling involves dragging huge, heavy nets along the sea floor. Large metal plates and rubber wheels attached to these nets move along the bottom and crush nearly everything in their path. All evidence indicates that deep water life forms are very slow to recover from such damage, taking decades to hundreds of years - if they recover at all.

If allowed to continue, the bottom trawlers of the high seas will destroy deep sea species, before we have even discovered much of what is out there. Think of it as driving a huge bulldozer through an unexplored, lush and richly populated forest and being left with a flat, featureless desert. It's like blowing up Mars before we get there.

Are we really driven to destroy our planet because of Money?

Unfortunatley yes.

Talk to your kids get them talking about it at school or college and as many people as they can so they can understand the damage of bottom trawling is causing to our oceans and its creatures.

Hopefully we all can put a stop to this Global disaster by pressuring our local politicians to do something.

Remember they want your vote and will do what they have too for it.

Do not underestimate the power of the people.

Too many people do not know about dragnetting and the harm it is doing

Tell your friends about how bad it is

Tell teachers at your kids school get them to discuss it with the kids.

Blog other bloggers discuss it on your site copy this one if you like.

Ring radio stations on there talk back shows.

Ring the editor at newspapers ask if they have heard the latest on bottom trawling or dragnetting tell them the facts.

The web is also powerful, you can link to you government departments marine ,fisheries, environment anyone who will listen.

If you can think of anything else please leave a message in my comments

Do that anyway and say hello tell me what you think.

You can also email me at petalac@gmail.com

Southpark and Greenpeace made a cartoon you can see it here http://petalac.blog-city.com/ocean.htm