Advocating for birds and the places they need doesn’t stop during a pandemic.
Last week, we participated in the National Audubon Society’s Virtual Seabird Action Week to convey the importance of seabirds to Senator Maria Cantwell.
Seabirds are in crisis, declining around the world by 70 percent since the 1950s.
Seabirds like tufted puffins face threats like climate change, over fishing, and habitat loss.
But we can help save seabirds by supporting the laws and policies that protect their food and their habitats.
First, Sen. Maria Cantwell and Rep. Derek Kilmer can improve the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA), our nation’s only federal fisheries law.
Seabirds eat small, schooling fish called forage fish.
The MSA doesn’t currently factor in the important role forage fish play in the ocean or protect seabirds from bycatch.
Second, our representatives can make sure the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) programs that protect fish and benefit coastal habitat have enough funding – in fact, Rep. Kilmer and his colleagues in the House recently voted to increase these important programs by 23 percent.
Seabird habitats are shrinking due to climate change and coastal development.
Expanding the MSA and funding NOAA programs will help protect seabirds.
We want to thank Sen. Cantwell and Rep. Kilmer for leading on this important issue.
We hope they continue to ensure that seabirds thrive for generations to come.
Judith White
President, Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society
Sequim