Keep food in the ocean for Brown Pelicans

Brown Pelican. Photo: Jordan Walmsley

We need your help to make sure that sensitive species such as the Brown Pelican have enough food to eat. Please send an email today asking fisheries managers to establish science-based overfishing limits that protect birds and other wildlife.

Northern anchovy is the number one seabird food on much of the West Coast. Since 2009, anchovy have been scarce or absent in the system. Brown Pelican breeding has been heavily influenced by the decline of this fish, and new studies show that other marine birds are having difficulty finding anchovy, as well.

Federal fishery managers should take seriously the collapsed stock and set fishing limits accordingly. This month, the Pacific Fisheries Management Council will consider establishing a new overfishing limit for anchovies in response to recent information about the status of the stock. Science-based catch limits that account for the status of the stock as well as the needs of dependent predators will help ensure that anchovies are plentiful enough to fulfill their crucial role in the Pacific food web.

Please send a note to the council that oversees fishing limits, demanding that it enforce science-based limits on fishing for anchovy when the stock is vulnerable and birds are suffering.

Comment are due by 5 p.m. March 30th.