SaveCorals.com

Over 700,000 square miles of ocean seafloor protected in the Pacific!

What areas are now protected from bottom trawling?

According to the National Academy of Sciences, bottom trawling is the single greatest threat to ancient corals (among the oldest living animals on Earth), sponges, and other ocean habitats and living seafloor animals. In just the few years since Oceana began work to protect corals, sponges and other living seafloor habitat from destructive bottom trawling (2002), there has been unprecedented progress towards closing areas to bottom trawling. With your help, we have helped increase the area protected from destructive bottom trawling in the Pacific from around 100,000 square miles to more than 700,000 square miles, an area larger than the states of California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada and Arizona combined.

While we have made great progress, more is yet to be done. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council recently voted to protect 180,000 square miles of bottom habitat in the Bering Sea, and we are hard at work to close the Arctic to large-scale industrial fishing north of Point Hope, Alaska. In British Columbia, the Canadian government has been slow to enact protections for deep sea coral and sponge habitats. And in Oregon, we are working through the Ocean Policy Advisory Council process to limit destructive bottom trawling and save sensitive habitats.

Please Join Us As We March Towards a Million Square Miles of Protection in the Pacific!




*Over 700,000 square miles of ocean seafloor protected in the Pacific!* What areas are now protected from bottom trawling? Click Here to Enlarge More than 700K sq miles protected! According to the National Academy of Sciences, bottom trawling is the single greatest threat to ancient corals (among the oldest living animals on Earth), sponges, and other ocean habitats and living seafloor animals. In just the few years since Oceana began work to protect corals, sponges and other living seafloor habitat from destructive bottom trawling (2002), there has been unprecedented progress towards closing areas to bottom trawling. With your help, we have helped increase the area protected from destructive bottom trawling in the Pacific from around 100,000 square miles to more than 700,000 square miles, an area larger than the states of California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada and Arizona combined. While we have made great progress, more is yet to be done. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council recently voted to protect 180,000 square miles of bottom habitat in the Bering Sea, and we are hard at work to close the Arctic to large-scale industrial fishing north of Point Hope, Alaska. In British Columbia, the Canadian government has been slow to enact protections for deep sea coral and sponge habitats. And in Oregon, we are working through the Ocean Policy Advisory Council process to limit destructive bottom trawling and save sensitive habitats. *Please Join Us As We March Towards a Million Square Miles of Protection in the Pacific!*
PRESS RELEASES 06/10/07: Oceana Approach Adopted to Protect Bering Sea from Destructive Bottom Trawling 03/20/07: Conservationists and Feds Win to Reduce Fishing Waste 06/12/07: Conservation for Resource-Rich Aleutian Islands Ecosystem Moves Forward 04/04/07: Conservationists Make Progress On Protecting Bering Seafloor Habitat 03/13/07: State Board of Fish Protects Coral Gardens 06/28/06: Corals, Conservationists, and Commercial Fishermen Win Largest Protected Area in America’s Oceans OCEANA IN THE NEWS 03/21/07: Seattle Times - Fishing companies\' suit dismissed as fishery-waste rules upheld 06/11/07: MSNBC - New Limits on Alaska Bottom Trawling Likely 07/02/06: Seattle Times - The Aleutians Template 07/01/06: MSNBC - Alaska's coral gardens protected from trawlers 07/01/06: Standard-Speaker, PA - Alaska's coral gardens protected from trawlers 07/01/06: PhysOrg.com, VA - New Rule Protects Alaska's Coral Gardens	FACT SHEETS AND MORE INFORMATION : * Protecting Seafloor in the Pacific - The Oceana Approach (PDF) * Shester, G. and J. Warrenchuk. 2007. U.S. Pacific coast experiences in achieving deep-sea coral conservation and marine habitat protection. Bulletin of Marine Science 81(3): xx-xx (email Oceana's Jon Warrenchuk for reprints) * Etnoyer, P. and J. Warrenchuk. 2007. A catshark nursery in a deep gorgonian field in the Mississippi Canyon, Gulf of Mexico. Bulletin of Marine Science 81(3): xx-xx (email Oceana's Jon Warrenchuk for reprints) * EFH Final Rule on Aleutians Protection (PDF) * Letter from AK Dept of Fish and Game regarding Coral gardens immediate closure (PDF) * Coral garden protection letter to AK Dept. of Fish and Game (PDF) * Compressed Press Kit - Destructive Trawling Campaign (3 MB zipped) * Coral Report (PDF - 2.2MB) * Stop Trawling (PDF) * Trawling Description (PDF) * Pacific Corals Initiative (PDF) * Oceana Solutions (PDF) * The Cradle of Life (PDF) * Federal Regulations (PDF) * State Regulations (PDF) * About Oceana (PDF) * Center for Independent Experts (CIE) Review of the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Evaluation of the Effects of Fishing on Essential Fish Habitat in Alaska: Dr. J. Anthony Koslow Pierre Pepin Asgeir Aglen Dr. Paul Snelgrove Kenneth T. Frank K. Drinkwater (review) K. Drinkwater (summary) * Thank you letter to White House for Hawaiian closure (PDF) * International Scientist Letter (PDF) * North Pacific Scientist Letter (PDF) * NOAA Letter Stating Significance of Corals (PDF) * Annotated Bibliography of Coral and Bottom Trawling Resources (PDF)


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