*[Enwl-eng] We can still save our ocean

Mon Jun 7 20:28:15 MSK 2021

      Massive fishing nets scoop up the seabed destroying everything and 
killing hundreds of marine animals. Tomorrow, our MEPs could vote to ban the 
use of these nets and protect our oceans. But our voice has to be stronger 
than the fishing lobby.

      TAKE ACTION
Hi,

Coral reefs, sea turtles, starfish, and countless other marine species will 
become extinct in Europe if we don’t take action right now. [1]

A practice called bottom-trawling causes more direct and avoidable damage to 
the ocean floor than any other human activity in the world. [2] And it’s 
happening more in the EU than anywhere else in the world. From the Strait of 
Sicily to the North Sea, the EU seabed is trawled more than five times the 
global average. [3]

Tomorrow could be a turning point. If we finally start to protect our ocean 
from the abuses of industrial fishing, there’s a chance that the ocean may 
recover in a few decades. [4] A ban on bottom-trawling in marine protected 
areas by our representatives in the EU could signal the start of much needed 
change to save our ocean.

But it won’t happen without public pressure. Last week with tweets and 
emails, our community helped move European Members of Parliament (MEPs) of 
the environment committee, who voted to prohibit harmful activities in 
Marine Protected Areas. [5] But now we need to win the final vote with all 
MEPs.

            Take action to protect our oceans!

See the updated email below we sent two weeks ago and take action to protect 
our ocean before it’s too late.

References:
[1] 
https://www.greenpeace.org/aotearoa/story/what-is-bottom-trawling-and-why-is-it-bad-for-the-environment/
[2] https://europe.oceana.org/en/our-work/bottom-trawling/overview
[3] 
https://europe.oceana.org/en/press-center/press-releases/oceana-urges-bold-action-ban-bottom-trawling-europes-protected-areas
[4] https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52122447
[5] 
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/cmsdata/235170/2021-05-28-roll-call-votes.pdf
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/it/press-room/20210523IPR04609/biodiversity-meps-demand-binding-targets-to-protect-wildlife-and-humans

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi,

Fishing nets as tall as a three-storey building and as wide as a football 
field scoop up the seabed everyday. In seconds, these nets destroy 
everything in their path, killing dolphins, seals, corals, seahorses and 
hundreds of other marine species.

This harmful industrial fishing practice is called bottom-trawling. [1] It’s 
happening right here in Europe, in the jewel of our oceans, inside Marine 
Protected Areas. [2] But finally we have a chance to stop it.

Today, our European Members of Parliament (MEPs) could vote to ban 
bottom-trawling in protected areas. But the fishing lobby wants to prevent 
the ban so that commercial fishing companies can continue to maximise 
profits by catching huge quantities of “product” in one go. [3]

This is where we come in. MEPs are our elected representatives, they 
represent us. They listen to interest groups like the fishing lobby, but 
they also need to listen to people from this community like you, Vladimir. 
Together, let’s counter the pressure MEPs are facing from the fishing lobby 
with a massive show of people power. Will you sign?

            Stop destroying our oceans

When fishing nets are dragged across the ocean floor, they catch shrimp and 
octopuses, but also destroy deep-sea coral and sponge communities like 
starfish. Once these are destroyed, other fish and other species dependent 
on them for spawning, shelter, nurseries, protection, and food, may also 
disappear.

This practice causes more irreversible damage to the seabed than any other 
human activity in the world. [4] It effectively turns our precious marine 
ecosystems into a wasteland.

At the end of May, our community tweeted and emailed MEPs in the environment 
committee (ENVI) of the European Parliament voting on a ban on 
bottom-trawling. All of the people we targeted voted to prohibit harmful 
activities in Marine Protected Areas and there was overwhelming support to 
protect our ocean. [5]

Thanks to this vote, it’s now up to all MEPs to decide the ban’s fate. If 
thousands of us show an outpouring of support to protect our marine life, it 
could help them stay strong against the fishing lobby who are doing 
everything they can to stop the ban. Add your signature now!

            Stop destroying our oceans

Together, we’ve been working for over 4 years to save our ocean. Last year, 
with a broad coalition of partners we delivered almost half a million 
signatures to the European Council calling for an end to overfishing. [6]

Back then, EU politicians failed to limit catches to sustainable levels. But 
every action we take together paves the way for the ones we will win and now 
we have another big opportunity to protect our ocean: sign and message your 
MEP to stop commercial fisheries from destroying our ocean!

With hope,
David (London), Giulio (Rome), Annemarie (Berlin) and the rest of the WeMove 
Europe team

P.S. In addition to being highly destructive, the heavy trawl gear used to 
scoop up the ocean floor also releases huge amounts of carbon stored in the 
seabed. If we don’t ban bottom-trawling, we will not be able to transition 
into low-impact, low-carbon fisheries in Europe. Sign now!

References:
[1] https://europe.oceana.org/en/our-work/bottom-trawling/overview
[2] 
https://europe.oceana.org/en/publications/reports/unmanaged-unprotected-europes-marine-paper-parks
https://europe.oceana.org/sites/default/files/oceana_2020_unmanaged_equals_unprotected_marine_paper_parks.pdf
[3] 
https://www.greenpeace.org/aotearoa/story/what-is-bottom-trawling-and-why-is-it-bad-for-the-environment/
[4] https://europe.oceana.org/en/our-work/bottom-trawling/overview
[5] 
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/cmsdata/235170/2021-05-28-roll-call-votes.pdf
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/it/press-room/20210523IPR04609/biodiversity-meps-demand-binding-targets-to-protect-wildlife-and-humans
[6] https://act.wemove.eu/campaigns/save-our-seas

WeMove Europe is an independent and values-based organisation that seeks to 
build people power to transform Europe in the name of our community, future 
generations and the planet.

WeMove Europe is funded by donations from our community across Europe. Can 
you chip in with a few euros a month and help make sure we can move fast to 
win the campaigns that matter to all of us? Donate

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WeMove Europe SCE mbH | Planufer 91 Berlin | www.wemove.eu | Privacy policy

From: David - WeMove Europe
Sent: Monday, June 07, 2021 6:32 PM
Subject: We can still save our ocean

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