The Arctic Can't Wait — Say NO to Commercial Fishing by July 27th!

Sign Our Petition

The Arctic is home to some of the world’s few remaining pristine ecosystems, four million people, and a wealth of wondrous marine life. It's also melting and becoming more accessible to commercial activities that could push this fragile region past the breaking point.

Please send the message below to the National Marine Fisheries Service by the July 27th deadline — telling them you support the Council's decision to stop the meltdown and prohibit the expansion of commercial fishing into the Arctic.

Ms. Sue Salveson Assistant Regional Administrator Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region National Marine Fisheries Service Attn: Ellen Sebastian P.O. Box 21668 Juneau, AK 99802 Dear Ms. Salveson, I urge Commerce Secretary Locke to approve the Arctic Fishery Management Plan and to implement regulations that close US Arctic waters to commercial fishing. Global climate change is having profound effects on the marine environment of the Arctic and the people who depend on it. Seasonal sea ice cover is diminishing and ocean temperatures are increasing. These rapid changes are causing enormous stress to Arctic ecosystems. Marine mammals such as walruses, ice seals, and polar bears are struggling to adapt. It is affecting the Arctic Ocean’s role in providing breeding, feeding, migrating, and staging areas for millions of shorebirds, seabirds, and waterfowl. Arctic peoples, whose subsistence way of life is inextricably linked to healthy and productive marine ecosystems, are also threatened by these rapid changes. Introduction of commercial fishing into the Arctic environment would place an even greater burden on the fragile Arctic food web and the people and animals that rely on it for their survival. Given the threats to the Arctic, we need a science-based precautionary approach to the expansion of industrial activities—including commercial fishing—in the Arctic Ocean. The Arctic Fishery Management Plan takes a responsible course that protects the health of the Arctic and its people and sets an important precedent for other nations and other industries to follow. Please approve the Arctic Fishery Management Plan and protect the US Arctic. Thank you,