'GLOBAL COLLAPSE' OF FISH SPECIES FEARED

Looks like it's not just the GRN and Alyssa Denny (see below) who are concerned about the long-term health of our fisheries. Check out this NYTimes article on a recent study that appeared in Science predicting a horrible, widespread collapse of our wild fisheries due to overexploitation and pollution.

While these warnings are more dire and specific than others, they are merely a continuation of the alerm bells sounded by the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy and the Pew Oceans Commission over the past few years. These two non-partisan panels populated by experts, relyed on research and outreach to our coastal communities working hands-on with our resources to get a lay of our oceans, and came up with strikingly similar outlooks and suggestions for action. The two commissions have continued their advocacy through the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative.

We need Gulf and Ocean leadership, and the Gulf Council and NOAA-Fisheries have shown themselves as not up to the task of ratcheting down the overexploitation of our fisheries, while the EPA and the states environmental agencies have been woefully inadequate in dealing with pollution and other challenges.

Bad math for the Gulf.

Aaron Viles is the GRN's Campaign Director