 How to Help
How Can You Help?
Certainly, your monetary donations
and the volunteering of
your time and services are a great help. In addition, following
are some basic principles of conduct that will greatly benefit our marine
wildlife friends. And, take a moment to read our public
service announcements. You may choose to make a difference by
learning about proposed acts, laws, regulations and proposals by making public comments or by contacting your representatives, legislatures and commissions and letting them know whether they should support or oppose such legislation.
Please.....
Do not throw trash in the water, especially plastic or fishing tackle.
Birds, sea turtles, and other marine mammals often mistake plastic
as either food or something to play with, and this can be very harmful
to them.
Do not release helium filled balloons into the air. They eventually
come back to the earth and oceans where marine mammals can ingest
them.
 Never
throw fishing line over the side. Manatees love to play with it,
and it often gets caught around their pectoral fins (hands) or bodies,
doing a great deal of harm. If you see old fishing line, please,
pick it up and throw it in the proper trash receptacle.
Never feed wild dolphins, manatees, or wild creatures. The food
you may feed them could make them sick or even kill them. Worse,
these mammals may get used to getting their food from human sources
and lose their hunting abilities, putting them at risk of starvation.
Besides...it is against the law!
If you see a marine mammal that is hurt or in trouble, please call
the police department immediately. If you live in Florida, please
call the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission Marine
Patrol at 1-888-404-FWCC (3922). This will help ensure a quick response
in Florida.
If you see an injured bird, look up your local bird center or animal
shelter and call them.
Public Service Announcements
Marine Mammals, Manatees, Sea Turtles and Birds need your help.
Please retrieve any trash, especially plastic, abandoned nets, and
fishing line from our waterways, beaches and oceans. Plastics and
fishing entanglements are the major cause of human-related injuries
to these animals. You can make a difference.
ACTION ALERTS:
It's
your world. Do something about it!
LFAS (Low Frequency Active Sonar): The US Navy is presently testing
an apparently intense and lethal sonar in the world's oceans. Recent
events and evidence suggests that this program is highly disruptive
and deadly to marine life. Despite the Marine Mammal Commission's
predictions that this technology would cause lung and tissue hemorrhage
and trauma in marine mammals and fish as well as cavity explosion
and hearing loss causing subsequent starvation, the US Navy has
proceeded with testing and deployment. Some of the recent events
that may have been linked to LFAS testing:
Europe: Feb 2000; 100's of dolphins began washing up on European
shores.
The Atlantic Coastline: 100's of dolphins and other marine mammals
have been washing up on beaches. Most recently, after a series of
tests near the Bahamas.
The Virgin Islands: In early October 1999, scientists heard sonar
sounds, followed by multiple cetacean strandings in the area.
More Information about this program can be obtained at:
http://www.oceanmammalinst.com
Our Take: This is an unnecessary program.
The US Navy already has the best passive listening systems in the
world and to foul the ocean environment with these pulsations , which
can reach over 200 decibels, could be devastating to many sea creatures,
especially cetaceans.
You can help by: Writing your local Congresspeople, Senators and the
President. Your letters do make a difference in the decisions they
make. Let others know of this danger to our environment and
encourage them to educate themselves about LFAS and then write their objections to their congressional representatives. The more
people aware of the problem and responding to this, the better.
Sample Postcard:
Dear (Insert your Congresspeople or Senator's name here),
I am a registered voter in the State of (Insert State here). I
have deep concerns regarding the testing by the U.S. Navy of its
Low Frequency Active Sonar System (LFAS). Evidence suggests that
this system is causing the strandings and deaths of marine mammals
in every place it has been deployed and tested to date. Further
evidence would suggest that this testing and deployment is also
affecting multiple species of sea life as well. I am writing to request
that your office investigate this matter and oppose all testing of
LFAS until factual evidence proves that this system is
not harmful to the ocean environment. Thank You.
Your Constituent,
(Sign Here)
Address, State, Zip Code
Via email by http://www.house.gov/writerep
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