Stop Trump's Attacks on Ocean Sanctuaries

Elected Officials and Candidates

The current global pandemic has affected our national health, economy, and our daily lives. For fisherpeople in the United States, the massive decline in demand for fish has meant that boats sit docked, with no market for fish. Instead of focusing efforts and resources on supporting hardworking fisherpeople, the Trump administration, fueled by special interests, has been busy rolling back protections on ocean sanctuaries, a move that does not restore the livelihoods of fisherpeople and instead threatens the health of our oceans for generations to come. These ocean sanctuaries are home to creatures that exist nowhere else on earth, are critical to resiliency in the face of climate change by offering areas for fish stocks to rebuild, and provide important protections for coastal areas that mitigate climate risks, like sea level rise and extreme weather events, that are already destroying communities and disproportionately impacting Black and brown folks.

We need to protect at least 30% of our oceans by 2030 in order to defend against the worst impacts of climate change and ensure the health of our fisheries. By opening up ocean sanctuaries, Trump has once again aligned himself with special interests and big business rather than supporting the future of fishing and coastal communities, and all of us who love our oceans. Do not let corporations like StarKist use a global pandemic as a sneaky and disingenuous excuse to undermine critical climate resiliency efforts and the future of our fish populations.

Sign our petition to ask all 2020 candidates for public office, your members of Congress, and other elected officials to support ocean sanctuaries and defend them against President Trump and his corporate cronies.

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To: Elected Officials and Candidates
From: [Your Name]

Scientists warn that we must protect at least 30% of our oceans in order to defend against the worst impacts of climate change on our ocean ecosystems and ensure that fishing communities will be able to thrive. Now, at a time of great hardship for our country, Trump and his corporate allies, like StarKist, are using COVID-19 to break the law and undermine critical ocean sanctuaries. Now is the time to be pushing for healthy and sustainable oceans as well as a healthy and sustainable fishing industry—not the time to be rolling back vital protections for oceans and fish stocks that so many depend on for their livelihoods. I urge you to support ocean sanctuaries and speak out against Trump’s illegal power plays.