Calypso
02-06-2003, 02:06 AM
Action deadline: as soon as possible
Turtles are washing up dead--often beheaded or with their throats cut
--on the beaches of Mozambique in East Africa. In the first few weeks of 2003, shocked tourists and residents have found dozens of green and loggerhead turtle carcasses.
The cause is bycatch--the unintentional catch of nontarget species--by illegal and unlicensed fishing vessels operating close to the coastline of Mozambique and even within protected areas. The boats are said to be of Chinese, Korean, or Taiwanese origin, and they are using longlines to catch sharks--some of which are protected species in Mozambican waters.
With nearly 1,700 miles of coastline, Mozambique lacks the means to stop these vessels or drive them from its waters. The illegal fishing vessels deploy longlines--steel cables up to 15 miles long with hooks attached on lines set at about one-yard intervals. Baited longline hooks are particularly lethal for loggerhead and leatherback turtles, which are hooked as they swallow the bait, and then drown or are killed by fishermen cutting away this unwanted catch. The discovery of numerous beheaded green turtles in Mozambique suggests that even these normally vegetarian turtles are going for the longline bait.
In addition to this gruesome cull, a recent study shows that shrimp trawlers operating in central Mozambican waters kill between about 2,000 to 5,400 marine turtles every year.
These deaths are preventable, but we need your help. The Mozambique government needs to develop a strategy to deal with illegal fishing, possibly seeking international assistance to drive out the pirate boats. In addition, thousands of turtle deaths could be averted each year by the installation of a simple and inexpensive tool known as a turtle excluder device (TED) on trawl nets. Legislation requiring the use of TEDs could be implemented through changes to Mozambique's fishing regulations, which are under review right now. The five species of marine turtles that occur in Mozambique's waters are all internationally recognized as threatened species and are protected by Mozambican law and international treaties.
See below for how you can help. Please also forward this alert to your friends and colleagues.
**********************TAKE ACTION NOW!****************
WWF has learned from our team in Mozambique that letters are needed to address this issue; sending emails or faxes will not be effective. A few hundred letters (ideally a few thousand) from concerned people around the world will let the government know that action is needed now.
To take action, copy the letters below and add your own thoughts, explaining why this issue is important to you. Mail the letters to the addresses indicated. If you cannot send letters to all five of the ministers we are targeting, the most important person to contact is Cadmiel Muthemba, the minister of fisheries. A standard airmail letter to Mozambique from the United States costs 80 cents.
Thank you for taking the time to send letters. If you have any questions, contact us at actionquestions@takeaction.worldwildlife.org for help.
***************************LETTER TEXT**************************
Please send the following letter to each of the ministers listed below. The priority is to send the letter to the Minister of Fisheries, Mr. Cadmiel Muthemba.
Honorable Minister of Fisheries
Mr. Cadmiel Muthemba
Office of the Minister
Caixa Postal 1723
Ministry of Fisheries
Maputo
MOZAMBIQUE
Honorable Vice-Minister of Fisheries
Mr. Alfredo Massinga
Office of the Vice-Minister
Caixa Postal 1723
Ministry of Fisheries
Maputo
MOZAMBIQUE
Honorable Minister for the Coordination of Environmental Affairs
Eng. John William Kachamila
Office of the Minister
Ministry for the Coordination of Environmental Affairs
Caixa Postal 2020
Maputo,
MOZAMBIQUE
Honorable Vice-Minister for the Coordination of Environmental Affairs
Eng. Francisco Mabjaia
Office of the Vice-Minister
Ministry for the Coordination of Environmental Affairs
Caixa Postal 2020
Maputo,
MOZAMBIQUE
The Honorable Minister of Tourism
Mr. Fernando Sumbana Júnior
Office of the Minister
Ministry of Tourism
Caixa Postal 4101
Maputo,
MOZAMBIQUE
Dear Sir,
Mozambique has recently demonstrated leadership in marine environmental protection by creating new marine protected areas in Bazaruto and Quirimbas, no longer issuing new licenses for the shallow water shrimp fishery, and banning coral reef exports, among other commendable actions. However, serious threats remain to marine turtles due to fishing activities both inside and outside marine protected areas. I believe you may be able to help resolve these issues.
Each year, thousands of turtles are dying unnecessarily as a result of bycatch in the shrimp trawling industry. This can be prevented by the introduction of turtle excluder devices (TEDs), which have been welcomed by Mozambican boat owners because they have been shown to improve the quality of their catch.
Marine turtles are also being killed as bycatch by illegal longline fishing vessels that are fishing for sharks, including some species that are protected in Mozambique. These boats--from Taiwan and other far eastern countries--are even entering protected areas such as the Bazaruto Archipelago National Park. Illegal fishing is not only bad for turtles and other species, it also costs your country untold amounts in stolen fish and competes unfairly with local fishermen.
I urge you to take concrete steps to stop the further senseless loss of marine life along the coast:
* The current revision of the fisheries regulations is an opportunity to make sure that all trawlers operating in Mozambican waters are using TEDs. Please do all you can to ensure that appropriate changes are made to the fishing regulations.
* Please work with relevant officials in your own and other departments, including the security and defense authorities, to develop a strategy to deal with illegal fishing, and to seek international assistance, if necessary, to drive out the pirate boats.
Sincerely,
**************************END OF LETTER TEXT*************************
To learn more about Mozambique's amazing species and habitats, as well as the conservation challenges facing the country, visit WWF's online expedition to Mozambique at http://takeaction.worldwildlife.org/ctt.asp?u=49170&l=1438
Direct any questions about the WWF Conservation Action Network to
actionquestions@takeaction.worldwildlife.org
Turtles are washing up dead--often beheaded or with their throats cut
--on the beaches of Mozambique in East Africa. In the first few weeks of 2003, shocked tourists and residents have found dozens of green and loggerhead turtle carcasses.
The cause is bycatch--the unintentional catch of nontarget species--by illegal and unlicensed fishing vessels operating close to the coastline of Mozambique and even within protected areas. The boats are said to be of Chinese, Korean, or Taiwanese origin, and they are using longlines to catch sharks--some of which are protected species in Mozambican waters.
With nearly 1,700 miles of coastline, Mozambique lacks the means to stop these vessels or drive them from its waters. The illegal fishing vessels deploy longlines--steel cables up to 15 miles long with hooks attached on lines set at about one-yard intervals. Baited longline hooks are particularly lethal for loggerhead and leatherback turtles, which are hooked as they swallow the bait, and then drown or are killed by fishermen cutting away this unwanted catch. The discovery of numerous beheaded green turtles in Mozambique suggests that even these normally vegetarian turtles are going for the longline bait.
In addition to this gruesome cull, a recent study shows that shrimp trawlers operating in central Mozambican waters kill between about 2,000 to 5,400 marine turtles every year.
These deaths are preventable, but we need your help. The Mozambique government needs to develop a strategy to deal with illegal fishing, possibly seeking international assistance to drive out the pirate boats. In addition, thousands of turtle deaths could be averted each year by the installation of a simple and inexpensive tool known as a turtle excluder device (TED) on trawl nets. Legislation requiring the use of TEDs could be implemented through changes to Mozambique's fishing regulations, which are under review right now. The five species of marine turtles that occur in Mozambique's waters are all internationally recognized as threatened species and are protected by Mozambican law and international treaties.
See below for how you can help. Please also forward this alert to your friends and colleagues.
**********************TAKE ACTION NOW!****************
WWF has learned from our team in Mozambique that letters are needed to address this issue; sending emails or faxes will not be effective. A few hundred letters (ideally a few thousand) from concerned people around the world will let the government know that action is needed now.
To take action, copy the letters below and add your own thoughts, explaining why this issue is important to you. Mail the letters to the addresses indicated. If you cannot send letters to all five of the ministers we are targeting, the most important person to contact is Cadmiel Muthemba, the minister of fisheries. A standard airmail letter to Mozambique from the United States costs 80 cents.
Thank you for taking the time to send letters. If you have any questions, contact us at actionquestions@takeaction.worldwildlife.org for help.
***************************LETTER TEXT**************************
Please send the following letter to each of the ministers listed below. The priority is to send the letter to the Minister of Fisheries, Mr. Cadmiel Muthemba.
Honorable Minister of Fisheries
Mr. Cadmiel Muthemba
Office of the Minister
Caixa Postal 1723
Ministry of Fisheries
Maputo
MOZAMBIQUE
Honorable Vice-Minister of Fisheries
Mr. Alfredo Massinga
Office of the Vice-Minister
Caixa Postal 1723
Ministry of Fisheries
Maputo
MOZAMBIQUE
Honorable Minister for the Coordination of Environmental Affairs
Eng. John William Kachamila
Office of the Minister
Ministry for the Coordination of Environmental Affairs
Caixa Postal 2020
Maputo,
MOZAMBIQUE
Honorable Vice-Minister for the Coordination of Environmental Affairs
Eng. Francisco Mabjaia
Office of the Vice-Minister
Ministry for the Coordination of Environmental Affairs
Caixa Postal 2020
Maputo,
MOZAMBIQUE
The Honorable Minister of Tourism
Mr. Fernando Sumbana Júnior
Office of the Minister
Ministry of Tourism
Caixa Postal 4101
Maputo,
MOZAMBIQUE
Dear Sir,
Mozambique has recently demonstrated leadership in marine environmental protection by creating new marine protected areas in Bazaruto and Quirimbas, no longer issuing new licenses for the shallow water shrimp fishery, and banning coral reef exports, among other commendable actions. However, serious threats remain to marine turtles due to fishing activities both inside and outside marine protected areas. I believe you may be able to help resolve these issues.
Each year, thousands of turtles are dying unnecessarily as a result of bycatch in the shrimp trawling industry. This can be prevented by the introduction of turtle excluder devices (TEDs), which have been welcomed by Mozambican boat owners because they have been shown to improve the quality of their catch.
Marine turtles are also being killed as bycatch by illegal longline fishing vessels that are fishing for sharks, including some species that are protected in Mozambique. These boats--from Taiwan and other far eastern countries--are even entering protected areas such as the Bazaruto Archipelago National Park. Illegal fishing is not only bad for turtles and other species, it also costs your country untold amounts in stolen fish and competes unfairly with local fishermen.
I urge you to take concrete steps to stop the further senseless loss of marine life along the coast:
* The current revision of the fisheries regulations is an opportunity to make sure that all trawlers operating in Mozambican waters are using TEDs. Please do all you can to ensure that appropriate changes are made to the fishing regulations.
* Please work with relevant officials in your own and other departments, including the security and defense authorities, to develop a strategy to deal with illegal fishing, and to seek international assistance, if necessary, to drive out the pirate boats.
Sincerely,
**************************END OF LETTER TEXT*************************
To learn more about Mozambique's amazing species and habitats, as well as the conservation challenges facing the country, visit WWF's online expedition to Mozambique at http://takeaction.worldwildlife.org/ctt.asp?u=49170&l=1438
Direct any questions about the WWF Conservation Action Network to
actionquestions@takeaction.worldwildlife.org