Stop the Empty Oceans Act! 6FEB14

GREENPEACE has launched a campaign against Rep norman "doc" hastings' r WA legislation to eliminate protections of our ocean fisheries. It is nothing more than a gop / tea-bagger assault on the federal government and the regulations on corporate America that protect all of us now, and future generations. It may seem like one of those ridiculous proposed laws that in saner political times wouldn't have had a chance of passing into law. Today the political climate makes the threat of proposed laws like this are very real, and action must be taken right away to fight and defeat them. Please click the link and sign the petition....
 

The US coast is in danger of losing our Federal protection against overfishing. Help us protect these important ocean ecosystems. Send a message to Congress today urging them to reject the amendment that would weaken the important Magnuson Stevens act.  Congress is about to weaken the main Federal law that protects our coasts from overfishing. Without healthy fish, we don't have healthy oceans or a healthy planet. With a global outcry, and the action and support of people like you, we’ve started to make progress towards ending overfishing and protecting the health of our oceans. But if a reckless Congress has their way, all this progress could be lost. That’s why we need you to take action for our oceans today. Right now, U.S. Representative Doc Hastings, the Chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, has introduced legislation to amend the Magnuson-Stevens Act. This new proposal would turn back the clock on the all the progress we’ve made towards protecting our oceans in the last two decades! Tell Congress to reject this new proposal. We can’t afford to let overfishing destroy our oceans. If enacted into law, Rep. Hastings’ “Empty Oceans Act” would gut the law's important environmental protections and allow an unsustainable rate of fishing—even on the most vulnerable fish. Even worse, it would put the fishing industry in charge of protecting endangered marine animals like sea turtles. Please help stop this damaging legislation that would allow overfishing— threatening our oceans, fisheries, and local communities. Under the current Magnuson-Stevens Act protections, U.S. fish populations are finally on the rebound! The number of fish populations subject to overfishing has decreased from 72 in 2000 to 26 in 2013. And rebuilding plans have led to the restoration of 34 populations, including Pacific lingcod and South Atlantic black sea bass, since 2000. We can’t afford to lose this progress. Together, we can stop this bill and fight to protect our oceans.   For our oceans, Phil Kline Greenpeace Senior Oceans Campaigner P.S. The Empty Oceans Act threatens to bring us back to the disastrous overfishing policies of the past. We’ve come too far to let that happen. Please join me in taking action today.
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