The Pew Ocean Real Estate Portfolio: The Real Shark

The Pew Ocean Real Estate Portfolio: The Real Shark 

Con I continued to ask the question: why was the charitable foundation of an oil corporation funding shark conservation? Those within shark conservation who had until then at least been willing to have a dialogue clammed up. It was like an elephant was in the room. 

Finally I was sent two links; one from Nils E Stolpe, who wrote about commercial fishing in the US, who detailed how Pew had funded SeaWeb and how in turn SeaWeb had changed negative public perception from oil companies to fisheries. 

But it was when I read the second link from 'The Fisherman' internet forum, by a poster calling themselves 'mightyj', that the penny finally dropped. Only it was more like a bag of spanners diving headlong down the stairs from the top of a lighthouse. 

Back in 2003 the Pew Charitable Trusts called for a National Ocean Policy for the US outer continental shelf. The policy they wrote became law and placed the Trust in majority control of the Joint Oceans Commission, the body that administers and effectively controls ocean policy in the US. Top of the 'to do' list was zoning large areas of sea floor for the purpose of leasing them to corporations for energy production, wind farms, fish farming, and bio-prospecting. 

The money from this rent goes to the science they favour, which in turn can be used to drive their agenda. It's seemingly a very clever way of rapidly privatising the ocean and effectively becoming the sea's landlord, everything generating complimentary momentum. 


Source: http://blog.through-the-gaps.co.uk/2012/11/the-real-shark-con-controlling-our-seas.html