founding statement
Amsterdam, 11th August 2010
If we were to ask you what you would associate with the sea, perhaps you would think of lying on a sunny beach, taking your dog for a walk, going diving or riding a surfboard. Maybe it is opening a can of tuna or visiting a seafood restaurant. Wherever you are and in whatever way you interact with this deep blue wilderness, it is important to acknowledge that the ocean is of great importance to ourselves and all other creatures which depend on it for their survival. Whales, sharks, dolphins, turtles, seals, rays, skates and fish are only very few of the plentiful species which roam the oceans in search of food and shelter. This extraordinary biodiversity has in recent years become steadily more threatened by human activity. We have impacted on the oceans to such an extent that we are now headed for an ecological disaster, the consequences of which the marine wildlife may never recover from.
One of these impacts is whaling. After much political debate and public pressure, a global ban was put in place in 1986 to end commercial whaling once and for all. However, some nations started exploiting loopholes in the regulations and continued to kill whales, despite fierce opposition from around the world. Now, nearly 25 years after the global ban came into force, whaling is on the increase again. Hunting operations by the European nations of Iceland, Norway and Denmark have expanded and Greenland recently obtained a new kill quota for humpback whales. European waters are increasingly turning red with blood as whalers turn their explosive harpoons to these defenceless creatures. In many cases the meat is then illegally exported to Japan. There is absolutely no place for whaling, wherever it takes place. Whaling needs to end and Europe should join the rest of the world in choosing compassion over killing.
Animals are taken from the wild not only for consumption, but also for other purposes, such as entertainment. In the last 30 years, hundreds of cetaceans, including dolphins and orcas, have been captured at sea or bred in captivity to be forced to work in dolphinariums in Europe and beyond. An illegal dolphin trade from places such as the Caribbean and Japan continues to supply the dolphinariums in and around Europe with new animals. Keeping dolphins, orcas or porpoises in captivity is unacceptable, given the vast areas which these cetaceans normally inhabit, the miserable and squalid conditions under which they are kept and the stress that public performances put on them. Dolphinariums, most of which operate under the guise of education and research, need to be exposed for what they really are: profit driven and exploitative enterprises. These socially advanced creatures should be freed from their concrete cells and released back into the wild.
By far the largest threat to our oceans comes from human consumption of seafood, which has taken on global proportions in the last few decades. Since the 1950s, the global fishing fleet has increased massively in a quest to supply vast quantities of cheap fish, to the point where we are now literally clear-felling the oceans of life. The situation in Europe stands out as one of the very worst examples. The majority of seafood consumed within Europe needs to be imported from elsewhere. Human consumption of meat and dairy is also adding to the overfishing problem, since nearly half the fish caught worldwide is fed to livestock. The multi-million euro industrialised fishing industry which supplies the fish and other living creatures we eat, is driving thousands of oceanic species to extinction. The North Sea was destroyed by large scale fishing during the 1970s, European trawlers are currently destroying much of the Atlantic Ocean by use of industrial fishing techniques and the Mediterranean Sea has recently become the most threatened sea in the world. Plagued by industrial fishing operations, many of them illegal, the numerous species which inhabit the unique Mediterranean region are now under serious threat of disappearing forever.
To be able to address the urgency of the situation and work towards better protection of the oceans, we have started a new organization: The Black Fish. We are not new to this field of work. For the last few years we have, between us, all worked on the ships of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, volunteered with local Greenpeace groups and campaigned on animal welfare issues with various other organizations. We have witnessed the destruction which takes place at sea and we have seen with our own eyes the cruelty that is inflicted upon marine wildlife. We simply feel that we need to do more if we want to make a difference to this desperate situation. Organizations such as Born Free, Earth Island Institute, Greenpeace, Oceana, Sea First Foundation, Sea Shepherd, Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society and many others already do a great deal of good and much needed work. However, the problems are huge. Existing organizations will simply never be able to cover all the oceans and address all aspects of these problems. It is our goal to build upon, expand and complement the work of others, both geographically, as well as strategically and encourage others to set up their own initiatives. We need to build stronger alliances and coalitions to be able to turn the tide.
With The Black Fish we will be focusing on investigation and intervention. In this way we will be working to expose bad practices, inform people about what is happening at sea and intervene directly to defend marine wildlife from illegal and destructive operations. The Black Fish is setting out on a mission to change attitudes towards our precious oceans and work to protect the unique life within them. We are calling on you to join us and to contribute your skills, ideas and compassion. Get in touch, get active and get involved!
