Here is what bycatch is.  When large scale fishing boats come in with catch, that catch also has unwanted animals in it too.  Those fishing boats throw the animals back dead.  This petition makes it so commercial fishing boats have to drag lines with buoys and streamers on them.  This discourages seabirds from trying to steal catch and bait.  Every year 300,000 seabirds die from bycatch.  This petition also makes fisheries strap LED lights on their boats.  This discourages many animals from coming close to the fishing boats and becoming bycatch. 

Bycatch could also destroy the whole ocean.  Every year bycatch kills 300,000 whales, dolphins, and porpoises.  Whales, dolphins, and porpoises are key to fertilizing the ocean.  The plankton rely heavily on this fertilizing. Since plankton are at the bottom of the food chain then the whole ocean would collapse.  Plankton also suck up a huge amount of carbon and are crucial to stopping the climate crisis.  

One time I was at the pier on a vacation to Florida.  I looked around and saw some fish be taken off of a boat and thrown into a trash can for no reason.  It was horrible, the fishes lives had been wasted for no reason.  So we need to stop bycatch.  Please sign the petition.

When I get enough signatures, I plan to send this to my local, state, and national representatives. I hope to educate them, so they can take action. Nobody wants a world with a destroyed ocean and a super accelerated climate crisis.

Thank you for reading my petition. I hope you consider signing this petition to save our oceans.

Ari

Santa Clara California 

Age 9