1 K, One Week, Focusing on Schools

As you know, September was a month for travel for Jason. We launched our No Fish In My Dish book tour. Jason was sent to zoo's and aquariums across the country.

Our experience during this past month has shown that schools are the best way to spread the word about overfishing. No Fish In My Dish is a children's book. Schools are where to find children.

What's more, teachers spend time getting to know the subject in depth, and they devise projects to help teach the children about the issue. In our experience, teachers are much better than people at zoos and aquariums at:

• Digging into the subject and pulling out the key points to be made
• Coming up with creative, engaging ways to make those points
• Creating excitement around the book and, therefore, interest in the subject

Frankly, we were surprised at this discovery.

We thought that zoos and aquariums would be our best bet. This month on the road in America has shown that to be wrong. Disappointingly, we found the lowest level of interest, the worst events, and nearly nonexistent support at zoos and aquariums -- the very places that are supposed to be working hard to save animals around the world. That discovery was an eye-opener.

There were exceptions. The El Paso Zoo worked hard with us, and sent a representative to Loma Verde Elementary School to talk about animals on the same night that I presented our No Fish program. We hope to work with them in the future as well, but always by bringing them to our events instead of trying to create an event at the zoo. Our events are simply better, with bigger crowds.

Sad to say, but zoos and aquariums don't draw people. We've had three zoo and aquarium events in three cities and all three were flops. We expended time and money getting extensive publicity on TV, radio, and in print, but nothing worked.

For example, the El Paso Zoo even put an announcement on its freeway billboard showing the event, the location, and the date, but few people showed up and only a handful of books sold. Here's the sign:


At schools, by contrast, we presented to groups as large as 200 and they loved it. We know where success waits: in the classrooms and auditoriums of America's public school system. So, we've refocused our marketing plan on schools alone from now on.









Our 1k, One Week plan will allow us to bring the message to every school in the country. The plan works like this:

1K One Week

• School must pre-order min 1000 books (no min on hats)
  
• Can be divided between max 5 schools
• Once pre-order sales reach 1,000 books, Jason will fly from Japan to visit schools (the pre sale of 1,000 books is necessary to cover the costs of flying Jason round trip from Japan, his lodging, rental car and such.)
  

School visits will be structured as follows:

1. Three assemblies during day to be held
1. K-2
2. 3-4
3. 5-6
   
   
2. One large presentation at night to involve parents and families
   
   
3. Books and hats will also be sold in the evening
   
   
4. Children will wear their hats and bring their books to read along

Jason will do this for a maximum of five days, with one school per day. A $1 donation per book/hat will be given back to schools for each book/hat sold. Schools will receive a teacher's resource kit to copy and distribute to staff.

Teachers have told us that they were able to use the book to teach many subjects, among them are:

1. Probability and statistics
2. History
3. Economics
4. Cultural Studies
5. Geography
6. Government
7. Social Studies
8. Ecology

This offer is open to any school in the country. It is amazing what children can do!

Euorpean Comission Bans Blue Fin Tuna Fishing

This article was taken from BBC News. It was written on Wednesday, September 19th, 2007. This should really open your eyes:


The European Commission has banned the fishing of endangered bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean for the rest of the year.

The move was taken to curb over-fishing and dwindling stocks of fish, after the EU reached its 2007 quota.

An EU official said it would move to prevent under-reporting of catches and unequal sharing of the quota.

The ban affects Cyprus, Greece, Malta, Portugal and Spain. Italy and France have closed their fisheries for 2007.

'Collapse risk'

Member states had already reached the 2007 quota of 16,779.5 tonnes, the EU said.

Countries that had not reached their allocation by the time of the ban could seek future compensation under EU legislation, he added.

EU and international rules also exist to punish member states that exceed their quotas.

"Clearly there are problems both of over-fishing a stock already threatened with collapse and of equity between the member states concerned," said EU Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg.

France was one of the main culprits, according to figures gathered by environmental group WWF.

"France was one of the countries that has caught most of the [EU] quota ... they have over caught their national limit," Carol Phua, WWF Fisheries policy officer, told the BBC News website.

The endangered bluefin tuna has been plundered for many years in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, with high rates of unreported over-fishing a key cause of the decline, the EU said.

Atlantic bluefin tuna is the best quality tuna in the world, and fisheries earn top dollar exporting the fish to the lucrative Japanese market.

The increasing appetite for sushi in Europe is also pushing up demand.

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) sets annual fishing quotas to be followed by all member countries.

"Clearly there are problems both of over-fishing a stock already threatened with collapse and of equity between the member states concerned "

Joe Borg
EU Fisheries Commissioner

What does this all mean for us in the states? Well, if it is happening in Europe, then it is just a matter of time before it happens here. When will this stop? As you can see, governments are already involved. BUT, it is not the governments that are causing the issue. It is the people who decide to eat the fish, every day that are the cause of the problem.

Now, as I have said before, I am not telling people to boycott fish or give it up all together. What I am asking for people to do is cut down on the consumption. Eat it twice a week and when you do eat fish, eat the sustainable seafood. It's not that hard. Just check out the Marine Stewardship Council's web page at www.msc.org. Click on the where to buy section and you will be provided a list of all grocery stores in your country that carry seafood with the MSC logo on it.

Really, it is a simple solution. The few fish bought, the fewer fish caught.

It's Time For Kids to Get Involved

Did you know, that as of Wednesday, September 19th, The European Commission has banned the fishing of endangered blue fin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean for
the rest of the year? This is due to overfishing and the fact that tuna are disappearing.

Over the last 50 years, the complete stock of fish in the ocean have gone down by 90%. That means that for every 10 fish in the sea 50 years ago, only one is left. This is a global issue that affects all of us, whether you live in the deserts of West Texas or on the island of Japan.

There have been many wonderful and beautifully written books by Marine Biologists from around the world, but still, ocean's stocks of fish are still going down. Laws have been passed, but not enforced. Governments and congressmen have been contacted, but still, no change.

Does this mean that the world's fish are doomed? Not necessarily. There is hope. 1 simple solution:

EAT LESS FISH. Really, it is that simple. Let's think about it. Fish get caught because fish get bought. So, if we buy less fish, then less fish will need to get caught. You don't have to give up fish all together. After all, we do need it in our diets. Just cut your intake down to twice a week. In addition, we need to look at Sustainable Seafood.

Sustainable seafood is seafood from sources, either fished or farmed, that can exist over the long-term without compromising species' survival or the health of the
surrounding ecosystem is sustainable.

The Marine Stewardship Council has developed some great ways to help us eat the right fish. In fact, if you visit their "Where to Buy" page ( http://eng.msc.org/ ) you can click on your country and you will provided a list of all grocery stores and brands of the right fish to eat.

Also, as you already know, author Jason Kelly has written a wonderful children's book called "No Fish In My Dish, www.nofishinmydish.com. The book is written from the viewpoint of a fisherman's daughter who comes home one day with only one fish. The family realizes that due to the big commercial fisherman, there are no fish left in their area and that something needs to be done.

Interesting Facts:

900,000
- Metric tons of wasted fish - 28% of the annual catch - that gets tossed
overboard because they are not the desired species.

4 kilograms - of 'bycatch' discarded by Gulf Coast shrimpers
for each kilo of shrimp kept.

Source: USA Today

Links to look at:

www.nofishinmydish.com

www.msc.org

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7002591.stm

http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0704/feature1/

We only have one planet. Once the fish are gone, they're gone. There is no bringing them back. When they disappear, what will the polar bears, seals, seal lions, penguins and other marine life eat? So, really this goes deeper than just the stock of fish in the ocean.

Remember, we all have a choice and we all have a voice! What will yours be?