{"id":7500,"date":"2019-10-04T11:54:16","date_gmt":"2019-10-04T15:54:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/edfish\/?p=7500"},"modified":"2019-10-07T15:47:44","modified_gmt":"2019-10-07T19:47:44","slug":"everyones-gulf-inspiring-a-new-generation-of-ocean-advocates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/edfish\/2019\/10\/04\/everyones-gulf-inspiring-a-new-generation-of-ocean-advocates\/","title":{"rendered":"Everyone\u2019s Gulf: inspiring a new generation of ocean advocates"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\u201cI learned about sustainability that if you catch too many fish, you\u2019ll catch them faster than they can reproduce \u2026 and there won\u2019t be any more fish.\u201d<\/p>\n

A simple concept, but one that took decades to integrate into U.S. law \u2014 and one that Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) works to establish as an underlying fisheries management principle across the globe. And it\u2019s a concept that we hoped to reinforce with an event we held in Jackson, Mississippi focused on connecting local youth to their seafood.<\/p>\n

For Sadarius, a gregarious 11-year-old at Blackburn Middle School in Jackson, the idea made sense almost immediately. It was one of the core messages intended to impress upon students at Everyone\u2019s Gulf<\/a>, a collaborative project among Share the Gulf<\/a> supporters EDF, Chef Nick Wallace, Mississippi Commercial Fisheries United, Gulf Wild\u2122<\/a>, Mississippi Hospitality and Restaurant Association, Silver Dollar Charters and of course, Blackburn Middle School.<\/p>\n

\"\"A second fundamental truth we aimed to convey to the students, most of whom were African-American, is that the natural resources of the Gulf of Mexico belong to them as much as they belong to anyone in the country. From the looks in their eyes when I talked to them about congressional advocacy and stakeholder engagement, it may have been the first time many of the students had heard it.<\/p>\n

For Blackburn students, Everyone\u2019s Gulf presented several firsts. With the Gulf of Mexico a three-to four-hour drive from Jackson, it was the first time several of the students had seen the Gulf. A flurry of raised hands told me it was the first time many had ever been on a boat. And it was certainly the first time any of the 11-year-olds had gone fishing for Gulf species like the redfish, mackerel and jack crevalle we caught that day. I didn\u2019t confirm, but I strongly suspect it was the first time the group had seen nationally-recognized Chef Nick Wallace demonstrate how to fillet, debone and cook a red snapper. I know it was for me. And it was probably the first time their U.S. congressman, Rep. Bennie Thompson, sat down at a table and ate with them in their school cafeteria.<\/p>\n

\"\"One student told her vice principal that she felt so special \u2014 and that was something we\u2019d hoped for too. Rep. Thompson told the group that \u201cgreat things can come from small places,\u201d referencing Chef Wallace\u2019s origins in the small rural town of Edwards, Mississippi. That message \u2014 that you are important, promising and deserving \u2014 was one that the congressman\u2019s presence conveyed like nothing else could.<\/p>\n

Over the course of the two-day program, we found other indications that our goals were being met and exceeded. During a lively session of the \u201cFishing Game,\u201d created by EDF to demonstrate the varying effectiveness of fishery management strategies, 11-year-old student Isaiah and his group suggested that a way to enhance accountability to catch limits was to use underwater cameras. We were blown away, as this strategy is a core focus of EDF\u2019s Smart Boat Initiative<\/a>. To the students, it was simple, logical problem-solving. Another brilliant student, Aaliyah, asked if we could avoid catching bycatch, fishing undersized species and damaging habitat by only fishing in certain places; she didn\u2019t know it when she asked, but she was suggesting \u201cspatial management,\u201d which is a broadly-used fishery management tool here in the U.S. and internationally.<\/p>\n

\"\"On the second day of the project, traveling home from our invigorating trip complete with a serious catch, dolphin-watching and relaxation, another student turned to me and asked, with concern in his eyes, whether \u201cwe caught the acceptable biological catch today.\u201d I had to choke back happy tears.<\/p>\n

Yet all these sentimental anecdotes don\u2019t add up to much without data \u2014 we are, after all, a data-driven organization. The data bore out. The students were administered a test before and after the workshop which measured their knowledge of principles of fisheries biology and management and their relationships to sustainability. Of the students who took both the pre-test and the post-test, 72% had improved scores. The most impressive, perhaps, was a student whose score leapt from 10% pre-workshop to 90% post-workshop. The students heard us, and something tells me they won\u2019t forget.<\/p>\n

Everyone\u2019s Gulf was launched and designed as a pilot, and given the success we\u2019ve seen so far and the enthusiasm of our partners, we\u2019re aiming to refine and expand the project. If you\u2019d like to be a part of that, please reach out to Elizabeth Silleck at esilleck@edf.org.<\/p>\n