It was great to see our campaign to save Pacific tuna get a huge boost in just a few hours last Saturday.
I spent the day on our stall at the Grey Lynn Festival which was was flooded by people keen to help our campaign and excited kids attracted by bright coloured leis, pirates, and chocolate fish. While we had a serious message - that action needs to be taken now to stop Pacific tuna stocks declining - we took a lighthearted approach and people responded. By the end of the day we’d spoken to more than 1000 people who also signed a postcard to our Fisheries Minister Phil Heatley calling on the Government to support our Pacific neighbours to make tuna sustainable.
Our stall was fun and interactive and caught the attention of kids and adults keen to try to catch more tuna with a traditional fishing rod than our elaborately dressed pirate fisher with his much larger net. While the fish were not real they had a very close resemblance to tuna. We were especially popular with the kids who actually thought they could catch more fish than the pirate. At the end of the day everyone agreed that we need to stop pirate fishing and regulate commercial fishing in the Pacific if we want to see a future for tuna.
Many of the people we spoke to were shocked and concerned by what’s happening in the Pacific. Overfishing is a major problem. Inspired to help, .a number of the people we spoke to took extra postcards with them to get signed by their friends, families and networks. It was amazing what people were willing to do when they had knowledge of the issues and a very crazy pirate trying to catch all their fish.
If you have not already taken action to save Pacific tuna, this is your chance.
You can send Phil Heatley the email version of our postcard and make your voice heard!