Greenpeace

In today’s session Japan gave a nod to shark conservation and also reiterated their concerns about a CITIES listing for any tuna species. On the shark issue during the discussion about adding Silky sharks to the list of species of concern deserving special attention Japan brought to the Commission’s attention the plight of Hammerhead sharks in this region. They asked and the Commission agreed to add Hammerheads to the list of sharks needing special consideration thus making data collection on Hammerheads a priority issue.

It’s not often Japan leads the discussion of needed conservation measures for any ocean animal they actively target. They did cite the high value of Hammerheads and their depleted status as their reason for speaking out about Hammerheads. I personally took this as a good sign of Japan’s changing attitude about their role in the future of Pacific fisheries. 

The other interesting thing to come out of the Japanese delegation today was their expression of concern about the possibility of another tuna species qualifying for a CITIES listing. The Commission’s scientific committee had just finished their review of the stock status for the different tuna populations in the region where the Commission was informed that Yellowfin tuna population, in region 3, was only 10% of their unfished level.

Japan then referenced the low population level of Atlantic Bluefin tuna as qualifying for a CITIES listing and that the WCPFC needed to take action before Pacific Yellowfin were also proposed for a CITIES listing. It was very interesting to hear Japan cite the stock status of Alantic Bluefin tuna as meeting the criteria for listing on CITIES, because of low population levels and that this Commission can’t allow that to happen again. All I can say is, small steps are better than nothing, inspiring our Greenpeace team to keep on fighting for the Pacific ocean’s health and the island nations that depend on her. 

This past winter Greenpeace partnered with the Collegiate KiteBoard Association to promote the use of Marine Reserves to help protect our oceans and its wildlife. It was fabulous to work with these energetic college students. I was especially grateful that they were putting their talents towards a cause that I hold close to my heart – saving the oceans. 

One part of this collaborative effort was to collect letters to President Obama from beach goers and ocean users expressing their sentiments about needed ocean protection. As we traveled from Jupiter to Key West, across central Fl to St. Pete, it was encouraging to see that so many people cared about the oceans and wrote short messages to President Obama. 

Everyone is well aware of how busy our new President has been since taking office and between the economy, 2 wars, healthcare and other issues there has been little time in the White House for our ocean agenda. Oh how we have might underestimated Pres. O's love and concern for our oceans.  

The President has directed his staff to work on creating a National Ocean Policy for America and restructuring the decision-making authorities of our Government to implement it. To this end he's created an ocean task force and put the Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ) in charge of coordinating this historic effort. CEQ is an executive arm of the White House that deals with environmental issues including oceans. 

We now have an Obama ocean team and yesterday Greenpeace, along with other non-profit organizations, were invited to come to the CEQ office and discuss our, under development, new National Ocean Policy. It was also an opportunity to for me to give President Obama all of the letters from concerned ocean lovers collected this past winter on the beaches of FL.

The comments were so wonderful, that I wanted to share them with you. 

• Keep the earth around for our kids!
• I love Turtles!
• Help save the reefs! Make some change! You rock!
• Please take care of our oceans – I love seahorses
• Please help to preserve our natural resources – ocean, world, air
• Nobody likes a dirty beach
• Healthy oceans help keep a healthy planet

Thanks to everyone that was involved. 

Dominica is a fabulous country, from its welcoming, friendly people to its unsurpassed unspoiled natural beauty. "The Nature Isle" although an apt description is such an understatement of what I discovered on my recent trip to Dominica. As they say a picture is worth a thousand words, I'll leave it up to you to explore Dominica's natural beauty through the photos and video posted here on our website. Suffice it to say photos don’t do it justice. As the lead campaigner on whales for GreenpeaceUS and after hearing that Dominica has decided that is not in their best interest to continue to support Japan, at the International Whaling Commission (IWC), in Japan's quest to re-establish commercial whale hunting I had to go there for myself and see what’s up.

Dominica's Prime Minister, Roosevelt Skerrit, announced in 2008 "This year the Cabinet took a decision that Dominica shall abstain on the issue of commercial whaling; we are breaking a trend that we have maintained for a number of years," adding that the decision to change the island's pattern of voting was in the best interest of the country. He kept his promise - Dominica did not attend the 2008 meeting of the IWC. In March 2009, speaking in Dominica's capital, Roseau, at the International Ocean Life Symposium, the Prime Minister reconfirmed that his government would no longer be supporting the whale-killing position of the Japanese government in the IWC. He said that his government would be acting in his country's "national interest." This makes Dominica the only East Caribbean IWC member country that does not support Japan's drive to resume commercial whaling.

Greenpeace applauds Dominica for their decision however having been in the politics of ocean conservation for many years I knew there must be more to it than just the Prime Minister’s proclamation. As I suspected there are many unsung conservation heroes in Dominica that have championed the cause of whale conservation for many years leading up to the Prime Minister’s change of heart in rebuffing Japan. The Dominican Conservation Association and the Waitikubuli Ecologicial Foundation along with many individuals deserve recognition and praise for their years of work championing whale conservation that is the true catalyst for this great accomplishment.

Along with the local conservation leaders, whale watching tour operators and tourist business leaders came together and convinced their government that being known as a whale friendly nation is truly their best path into the future. Join me and thousands of others in thanking Dominica. I will make sure the non whale friendly nations know of your support for Dominica at the IWC this month in Portugal.

Visit our Dominica site at: www.greenpeace.org/dominica

--Phil