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Huge ocean commitment by President Obama ... Protecting the World's Oceans

Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Gmail Peter Burgess Huge ocean commitment by President Obama Beth Lowell, Oceana Wed, Jun 18, 2014 at 12:28 PM Reply-To: wavemaker@oceana.org To: Peter Burgess Protecting the World's Oceans

Dear Peter,

A step toward ending seafood fraud

IMAGE President Obama

Join us in recognizing President Obama's leadership on 'black market fishing' »

Yesterday morning, President Obama made big news at the Our Oceans Conference, announcing an initiative to stop seafood fraud and illegal fishing.

This commitment is a huge victory for families. Once implemented, you should be able to buy healthy, sustainable seafood with the knowledge that you aren’t unknowingly supporting pirate fishermen and fraudsters. Seafood fraud can cause health problems , disguising toxins like mercury when a high mercury fish is labeled as a safer alternative, as was found in our national study.

Join us in thanking President Obama and his administration for their leadership in tackling seafood fraud and “black market fishing.”

Over 130,000 Oceana supporters (likely including you) have taken action in the last few years to make this happen. We also want to thank you for your support to get us this far.

Black market fishing undermines the health of the consumers, the health of the oceans, and the health of the economy. By promoting sustainable fishing practices and combating seafood fraud, the United States will benefit honest fishermen and discourage illegal “pirate” fishing.

Importantly for Oceana supporters like you, improving transparency and traceability and stopping IUU fishing also helps the ocean ecosystems which are so greatly damaged as well. We can better ensure that fisheries aren’t overfished, disrupting delicate ocean food webs.

Sign on to show the Obama administration that you’re paying attention, and you’re ready for this kind of global leadership against seafood fraud.

The fight does not stop here though. President Obama’s commitment is encouraging, but we’ll be working to make sure that it is not only implemented, but also enforced. Seafood fraud also has a global reach, and Oceana is actively working to stop seafood fraud abroad as well.

For now, join us in recognizing this huge moment. We look forward to your support as this work continues.

Alex Bea
For the oceans,

Beth Lowell
Campaign director, Seafood Fraud Oceana

Oceana | 1350 Connecticut Ave. NW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20036 USA p: +1 877.762.3262