Sea Watch News Alert, May 2007     
   

Hookah Divers are Destroying Mexico's Reefs. Help Stop Them Now!

Dear Sea of Cortez Supporter: You made a difference. By sending personalized e-mail messages expressing your concern about the recent Shark Norma, you helped prod Mexico's government to reconsider the full effects of that regulation.

  • Background information

    We have an opportunity now, to make positive changes before a regulation becomes law. Norma 064 is currently in the public comment phase and gives us an opportunity to make a substantial and needed change to protect reefs and the reef fish in the Sea of Cortez.

  • Click Here to contact Mexican officials.

    By contacting government officials before July 8th, you can help eliminate the use of compressed air and hookah (surface supplied air) by commercial fishing boats, a practice that is rapidly destroying the reefs in the Sea of Cortez and along the Baja's Pacific coast. NOM-064 is designed to protect reefs by limiting the type of fishing gear used by commercial fishing operations.

  • Video: Presentation on reef fishing situation

    Mexico has long banned the use of hookah or SCUBA by sport fishermen, but allows its use in commercial fishing operations.

  • Petition: Signatures of 300 fishing families

    We believe there is a real chance of banning the commercial use of this gear in NOM- 064, if you take a moment to personally lobby government officials by e-mail.

    You can make a difference!

    Send an e-mail message to
    Mexico's government officials today.



    • Watch the video click play!

    In the last 8 years divers with hookah gear using nets and harpoons have been destroying the reefs and the reef fish in the Sea of Cortes.



    300 hook and line fishing families between La Paz and Loreto have lost their livelihood to hookah divers.



    Using compressed air has been banned in Mexico for sports fishermen for 40 years, but since commercial fishermen weren’t named specifically they have been allowed to use compressed air to clean the reef. You can help stop this destructive practice! .




       

    Testimonials of fishermen that have lost their livelihood.

    		 
    A 74 years old, he has seen it all dissapear
    300 families have lost their livelihood
    Fish have declined about 90% in the last 10 years
    No future for honest hook and line fishermen
    Catch has dropped from 30 kilos an hour
    to 30 kilos a day
    Fishermen from Punta Alta
    Because of hookah divers 300 families
    have lost their ability to fish
    They all say that hookah divers have
    killed everything
    We haven't seen an inspector in a year
    Televisa interview with fishermen
       
    How You Can Help  
    To help you get started, we\'ve assembled a list of government officials, complete with e-mail addresses, phone numbers, and street addresses. Click here to use our web site to send an e-mail message

    Thank you in advance for joining us in this effort. You really will make a difference.

    Sincerely,
    Mike McGettigan
    Founder
    Sea Watch


    No ecological problem will ever be solved until it becomes a political problem and it will never become a political problem until public opinion demands it - Paul Armond



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