Support Chumash Marine Sanctuary

According to a recent National Geographic Magazine study, there are 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic debris in our oceans today. Of that mass, 269,000 tons float on top of the ocean, and 4 billion plastic microfibers per square kilometer litter the deep sea. A field of flotsam, consisting of 90 percent plastic, floats across the Pacific Ocean from California to Hawaii and on to Japan, and it stretches over a distance of 500 nautical miles. A CBS news report predicts that the world’s oceans could be empty of fish by 2048. Already, a large number of edible fish and seafood species have declined by 90 percent.

The sad truth is that our oceans are dying.

Can we do anything? The answer is yes; it is not too late. We can save the ocean by reclaiming one coastal zone at a time. Here on the Central Coast, we can do our part by supporting the Chumash National Heritage Marine Sanctuary (www.chumashsanctuary.com). It is in the approval process at the NOAA, but we need your support now.

Call Rep. Lois Capps (546-8348), Sen. Dianne Feinstein (559-224-3841), and Sen. Barbara Boxer (559-497-5109) to voice your support. Do it on behalf of our children and grandchildren.

This story was originally published March 14, 2016 at 8:54 PM with the headline "Support Chumash Marine Sanctuary."