No Fish In My Dish Publicity

Save the Fish and Raise $$$ For Your School or Organization as Well!!!

2008-07-03T09:50:00.002-06:00

Hello All,

I am writing to each and every one of you with regards to a new children's book now available to elementary schools across the world. In addition, we would like to provide an exciting fundraising opportunity for you.

Before I continue, I would like to encourage you to check out our website, www.nofishinmydish.com if you haven't done so already. As you will see, No Fish In My Dish is the only children's book that addresses the overfishing pandemic. In the last 50 years, 90 percent of ocean fish have disappeared. The continuing decline is an environmental catastrophe with startling evidence. For example, on September 19th, the European Commission placed a complete ban on Bluefin Tuna fishing in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean for the rest of the year. The move was taken to curb overfishing and protect dwindling stocks of fish after the EU reached its 2007 quota more than three months early, and scientists say the quota was twice as much as it should have been in the first place.

No Fish In My Dish offers a simple solution that anybody can understand: "For five days a week, say 'No Fish In My Dish'". The book does not ask people to boycott fish, just to eat fewer fish. The phrase "fewer fish bought means fewer fish caught" captures the spirit of the book. In rhyming words and watercolor illustrations, the book shows a way that kids and families can help stop overfishing.

Fen Montaigne, author of National Geographic magazine’s "Still Waters: The Global Fish Crisis" wrote:

"Magically illustrated and lyrically written, No Fish in My Dish takes a tough look at one of the 21st century’s most important environmental challenges, but does so in a moving, uplifting way that will delight and inspire children."

At Loma Verde Elementary School, in El Paso, Texas, Jason visited each classroom to speak to children and teachers about No Fish In My Dish and show what they can do to make a change. Several teachers told Jason how useful they found the book to be in their classrooms. Some are using No Fish In My Dish to teach the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). Some of the TEKS subjects covered by the book are:

Cultural Studies
Geography
Ecology
Government
Economics
Social Studies

Based on the feedback given to us, we have developed our "1K, One Week" strategy that seeks to sell 1,000 books in a single week. Our experience during Jason's one-month publicity tour covering Sacramento, New York, El Paso, and Los Angeles showed 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 children about the issue. Jason spent September traveling across America speaking to audiences at aquariums, schools, and zoos. In the course of that tour, we discovered that teachers are even 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

At Jason's events in El Paso, teachers from schools other than Loma Verde approached us asking when their school would be next. Another local elementary school, Myrtle Cooper, even put together a last-minute assembly after school that attracted 61 students and parents. Unfortunately, because Jason lives in Japan and is paying all printing and travel expenses himself, we were not in a position to visit every elementary school across America and the rest of the world, despite our desire to do so. Our goal, however, is to visit many elementary schools across the world in a campaign spanning years. We started in El Paso, Texas and would like to continue until Jason has visited every elementary school, world wide. This is a global problem and we have a global message.

Based on the feedback and reactions of teachers, students, and parents, Jason and I have created our "1K, One Week" plan. It works as follows:

· Schools must pre-order a minimum of 1,000 books (no min on hats or shirts)
· The 1,000 can be divided between a maximum of five schools
· Once pre-order sales reach 1,000 books, Jason will fly from Japan to visit schools (this amount of sales are needed to cover the costs for Jason's airfare, lodging, and rental car expenses)
· In return for the sales, Jason will visit the schools and provide wonderful readings and presentations just as he did at Loma Verde and Myrtle Cooper.

School visits will be structured as follows:

1. Three assemblies during the day
1. Pre-K/K-2
2. 3-4
3. 5-6
2. One large presentation in the evening to include parents and families
3. Books, hats, and shirts sold at the evening presentation
4. Children will wear their hats and shirts 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/shirts will be given back to schools for each book/hat/shirt sold. Also, each school will receive a teacher's resource kit to copy and distribute.

You can find more information about our visits to Loma Verde and Myrtle Cooper Elementary Schools on our website at www.nofishinmydish.com.

1 K, One Week, Focusing on Schools

2007-09-25T06:23:00.000-06:00

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:

Three assemblies during day to be held

One large presentation at night to involve parents and families
Books and hats will also be sold in the evening
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:

Probability and statistics
History
Economics
Cultural Studies
Geography
Government
Social Studies
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

2007-09-25T06:10:00.000-06:00

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

2007-09-24T17:53:00.000-06:00

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?

Cutting the purse [seine] strings

2007-05-17T09:14:00.000-06:00

Recently, one of our fabulous partners, Oceana (www.oceana.org) wrote a really wonderful article I wanted to share with everyone. It can be found on their MySpace site: http://www.myspace.com/saveouroceans

The only thing worse than overfishing our oceans and driving species to the brink of extinction is the government paying to do it. That’s been the case for far too long, as upwards of $30 billion (that’s billion, with a “b”) worth of subsidies are handed over to the fishing industry every year. A whopping $20 billion of that are used for things like boat repairs, fishing equipment and fuel; expenses that allow for increased and intensified fishing practices.

This soon could be a thing of the past, now that 13 senators – from across the political spectrum -- introduced a resolution on Thursday night calling for the United States to pursue an international ban on government subsidies to the fishing industry. Days before, the U.S. Ambassador to the World Trade Organization, proposed a broad prohibition against fisheries subsidies at WTO negotiations in Geneva including delegates representing the WTO's 150-member countries.

The WTO is the best chance for success in eliminating these harmful fisheries subsidies, so we need an overall deal in the Doha round of trade talks, which remains to be seen.

What is certain is that if the depletion of ocean species continues at current rates, our seafood supply could collapse before the middle of the century. According to a groundbreaking report in Science last year, scientists are concerned about the effects of marine species loss on our supply of wild seafood and other essential ecosystem goods or services. Using global catch data they found that catches of 29 percent of wild populations of seafood have already dropped to less than 10 percent of their maximum.

For more great information, check out Oceana's myspace site: http://www.myspace.com/saveouroceans

or their website: www.oceana.org

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT NO FISH IN MY DISH

2007-04-13T15:29:00.000-06:00

We all know that No Fish In My Dish is great book. Here is what others are saying about it:

As No Fish In My Dish says, "It's simple . . . eat more, have less." With rhythm and rhymes, and delightful illustrations, this book speaks to all of us - children and adults - everywhere, simply, with a touching story, and an easy solution. "We'll eat fewer fish and leave more in the sea, For five days a week we'll have something else to eat . . . and then, slowly the oceans will fill up again."

No Fish In My Dish, creatively to the point, is an important educational venue nourishing caring by bringing reality directly home, while offering easy immediate, effective personal responsibility.

Diane Buccheri, Publisher, OCEAN Magazine

Ocean Magazine is a celebration of our earth's water -- its beauty, resources, wildlife -- where treasures of the sea exist bountifully but not infinitely.
The ocean, despite its vast power, is fragile. Ocean Magazine is also about protection of the earth's water -- its environment, ecology, health, and conservation. Oceanic resources are intrinsically linked to our continued existence.

Ocean Magazine publishes articles, stories, essays, poems, and photography about and of the ocean -- observations, experiences, scientific and environmental discussions -- written with fact and feeling.

To learn more about Ocean Magazine, please visit their site.

NO FISH IN MY DISH GOING TO PRINT

2007-03-26T20:24:00.000-06:00

Yes, that's right, we are going to print. Jason and I have decided to self publish the book. We are looking for a printer. No Fish In My Dish will hopefully be available for purchase from our website for $9.95 plus shipping and handleing in about 6 to 8 weeks.

We would like to thank all of our partners sites, friends and family for their continued support and faith in our book. This is just the beginning for us all.

Watch out world, here comes No Fish In My Dish!

PROTECTING THE WORLD'S OCEANS...

2007-03-06T13:25:00.000-07:00

Oceana is the largest international advocacy organization focused 100 % on protecting the world's oceans. Industrial fishing vessels are scooping too many fish out of our oceans while industries on land are putting too many pollutants into our oceans. In just five years, we've already had tremendous ocean victories, and with the help of nearly 300,000 supporters worldwide, we hope to turn the tide on ocean destruction.

WWW.OCEANA.ORG

Like many of us, Oceana wants our oceans to survive. Oceana wants our oceans to be around for our children and grandchildren and great-great grandchildren. Through their efforts our oceans may be able to survive. In order for them to accomplish the goal we all dream about, they need your support.

PLEASE, check out their website, www.oceana.org .

With your help, we can all contribute to making this a better planet for our families.

ANNOUNCING ANOTHER NEW PARTNER

2007-03-06T11:28:00.000-07:00

Support for No Fish is gaining momentum. Jason and I would like to welcome our newest partner, John Gray Recyclers. John Gray Recyclers pledge is to increase the public's awareness of the importance of the protection of the ocean and the world's coral reefs. They believe that we must all take action to conserve the ocean to sustain the wonderful web of life on our planet Earth.

An example of their tireless work can be found in an article written by Katherine Whitehead, "The Demise of Coral Reefs". Here is an excerpt from her great article:

Coral reefs are a natural habitat for many fish, invertebrates and algae. They have been described by scientists as “the rain forest of the sea”, and are potentially the most diverse ecosystems on Earth.

These coral reef ecosystems are being destroyed by over-fishing, destructive fishing methods, interference from recreational divers, coastal development and global warming.

Due to advances in technology, fishing has become very efficient, over one hundred million tons of fish are caught each year. Sadly this has led to the downfall of many species of fish causing disruptions to the oceans food web. As the numbers of larger fish decline, smaller fish are caught to continue to meet demand. The declining numbers of smaller fish allow accelerated algal growth which starves the corals of sunlight preventing Zooxanthellae from photosynthesising and slows growth. This reduced growth makes corals vulnerable to boring animals, such as sponges, polychaete worms and molluscs which weaken the corals structure and cause them to collapse.

Many fishing techniques are incredibly damaging. Trawl nets used for deep sea fishing are armed with steel weights that are bulldozing entire reef ecosystems. Reefs that have taken thousands of years to develop are being reduced to rubble in an instant. These reefs will not grow back in our lifetime.....

....Forms of fishing that appear to be ecological, such as farming are also affecting corals adversely. Scientific studies have shown that waste from fish farms increases nutrient levels in surrounding waters, resulting in excess algae....

Please see the entire article at: http://www.johngrayrecyclers.org/id63.html

And, as with all of our partners, please help us support them. Go to their websites and see what they are doing to change the world!

THE GOOD FISH TO EAT

2007-02-28T09:07:00.000-07:00

As you all know, Jason is not telling the world to boycott fish. For those of us who like to eat fish two days out of the week, we should be looking for sustainable fish at the grocery store and restaurants.

What is sustainable fish? The Seafood Watch from the Monterrey Bay Aquarium (www.http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch ) defines sustainable seafood as "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."

So, Now that you know what type of fish to eat, the second question is WHERE DO I FIND IT?

Look for the fish with the ecolabel! The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC, www.msc.org) is an independent, non-profit organisation that provides a solution to the problem of overfishing. Its blue eco-label can only be used on products from fisheries that have been independently assessed and meet the MSC’s standard for a sustainable fishery. If you are concerned about overfishing and its environmental consequences, choose seafood with the MSC eco-label when you are shopping. The eco-label provides assurance that the product originated from a well-managed fishery and has not contributed to the environmental problem of overfishing.

In February 2007 nearly 500 sustainable seafood products bearing the blue MSC eco-label were on sale in 25 countries around the world. See http://eng.msc.org/html/content_531.htm for stockists of MSC labelled fish.

Check out www.msc.org. If you don't find your favorite grocery store on their list of "Where To Buy", write a letter to the CEO. Tell them you want them to stock the GOOD FISH!

OVERFISHING NEWS

2007-02-22T07:17:00.000-07:00

Overfishing is a catastrophic problem that few people know about. It's hard to find a villain to blame. Fishermen have fished for thousands of years. They're doing what their fathers and grandfathers did. A mom going to the grocery store to buy a can of tuna to make sandwiches for her children is not out to destroy tuna. Yet, millions of fishermen and billions of moms are permanently eliminating our ocean's fish.

The BBC ran an excellent story last November in which it looked at a report from Dalhousie University in Canada concluding that there will be "virtually nothing left to fish from the seas by the middle of the century if current trends continue." Pause, and imagine what that would be like.

Steve Palumbi of Stanford University said, "This century is the last century of wild seafood." Read the whole sad story, and then read CNN's summary by numbers of the report.
Yes, the report from Dalhousie sure was a doozy. So much so that Dr. Simon Cripps, Director of the World Wildlife Fund's Global Marine Program said, "For centuries people have regarded the ocean as an inexhaustible supply of food, but in recent years human actions have finally pushed oceans to their limit. This study confirms the scale of the oceans crisis. Governments and industry must act or we'll reach the point of no return for fisheries and the marine environment."

Read the WWF's urgent update.

I'm afraid that Dr. Cripps and the rest of us are doomed to disappointment in governments and industry. One reason Jason wrote No Fish In My Dish is that he lost faith in the world's policy makers to act in time. They will continue doing the wrong thing until it's too late. That's why we need to focus on the consumer side of the problem. Eat fewer fish! That's the answer.

The latest evidence of policy makers letting fish down comes from Brussels, where the EU Fisheries Ministers just set 2007 quotas that are "worse than ever," in the words of Oceana. Ricardo Aguilar, the Research Director of Oceana Europe said, "It's incredible and incomprehensible how Ministers continue to play politics when our fish stocks are in serious trouble."

Folks, it's no joke. The ocean's fish are disappearing. Mr. Aguilar referred to the Dalhousie report when he said, "Only last month an important scientific study outlined how fish stocks risk global collapse if fisheries continue to be managed as they are now. How can Ministers continue to ignore this -- do they really want to be responsible for future generations living in a world of empty oceans?"

Read Oceana's brief on this disaster.

If you're still up for it, there's a lot more. Fill your mind and raise your consciousness by reading: Overfishing facts from Greenpeace About how even fish themselves are already starving, What the National Coalition for Marine Conservation is doing, The Marine Conservation Network's report on bycatch and its elegant 16-page look at the state of America's oceans

Like to eat fish? Don't we all. Luckily, with my solution, you still can. No Fish In My Dish urges you to refrain from eating fish for just five days per week. That leaves two guilt-free fish-eating days on the calendar.

On those other two days, though, you should still be careful about what goes down the hatch.

To help you make gracious decisions, here's Seafood WATCH from the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Do your part. Read the book. For five days a week, don't eat fish. Tell others about this site. Join the no fish list.

ANNOUNCING NEW PARTNERS

2007-02-21T13:21:00.000-07:00

Things are really moving here at No Fish. The support that we have been receiving is mind blowing. It is wonderful to see so many people from so many parts of the world to come together to support one cause: SAVING THE WORLD'S OCEANS, ONE FISH AT A TIME!!

I would like to announce our new partners:

and

REEF RELIEF is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to Preserve and Protect Living Coral Reef Ecosystems through local, regional and global efforts. Reef Relief's mission is to:

Increase public awareness of the importance and value of living coral reef ecosystems

Increase scientific understanding and knowledge of living coral reef ecosystems

Strengthen grassroots community-based efforts to protect coral reef ecosystems

Design, develop, and help implement marine protected areas associated with coral reef ecosystem

Encourage and support eco-tourism as part of sustainable community development that protects and preserves coral reef ecosystems

Strengthen our organizational capacity to carry out our mission

Check out their website at http://www.reefrelief.org/

OCEAN Magazine is a celebration of our earth's water - its beauty, resources, wildlife - where treasures of the sea exist bountifully but not infinitely.

The ocean, despite its vast power, is fragile. OCEAN is also about protection of the earth's water - its environment, ecology, health, and conservation. Oceanic resources are intrinsically linked to our continued existence.

OCEAN Magazine publishes articles, stories, essays, poems, and photography about and of the ocean - observations, experiences, scientific and environmental discussions - written with fact and feeling.

Please visit OCEAN Magazine at http://www.oceanmag.org/

Please extend a warm welcome to our new partners and visit their websites!

NEW FISH WELCOMES WILDCOAST

2007-02-20T18:19:00.000-07:00

Jason and I would like to welcome the folks at Wildcoast, www.wildcoast.net . WiLDCOAST has partnered up with No Fish to help save the world, one fish at a time.

WiLDCOAST protects and preserves coastal ecosystems and wildlife in the Californias and Latin America by building grassroots support, conducting media campaigns and establishing protected areas.

Some of their programs are:

Clean Water Now
Clean Water Now! is the rally cry for thousands of coastal residents in south San Diego County and Tijuana who are demanding an end to the ocean pollution threatening their way of life. It is time for our elected officials and policy makers to support a real comprehensive solution to this pollution. Clean Water Now! is the rally cry for thousands of coastal residents in south San Diego County and Tijuana who are demanding an end to the ocean pollution threatening their way of life. It is time for our elected officials and policy makers to support a real comprehensive solution to this pollution.

Laguna San Ignacio
Laguna San Ignacio, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is home to sea turtles, peregrine falcons, ospreys, and hundreds of thousands of migratory waterfowls and shorebirds, and is the last undeveloped gray whale birthing lagoon on the planet. Laguna San Ignacio is part of a 248-mile-coastline wetland complex that includes intertidal mudflats, salt flats, sandy beaches, and mangroves. This wetland complex is a global treasure and one of the world’s most biologically significant coastal sites.

Sea Turtles
Sea turtles have existed on Earth for more than 150 million years, meaning that they co-existed with dinosaurs. There are seven species of sea turtles, five of which spend long periods on Mexican coasts, especially on the coasts of the Baja California peninsula.
They come from places as far as Japan, southern Mexico and Hawaii. Sea turtles symbolize SURVIVAL, if they survive our destructive and ethnocentric civilization, all other species can survive as well.

Defiende el Mar
Defiende el Mar (Defend the Sea) is a movement in which all individuals, organizations and communities play a very important role. Everyone should be a part of it. We all need to have a basic knowledge of what is happening in our oceans, so we can take action and defend the sea

Check out thier blog at:
http://www.wildcoast.net/site/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=135

NO FISH TO TRANSLATED

2007-02-20T08:22:00.000-07:00

Hi All,

I have exciting news. No Fish In My Dish (www.nofishinmydish.com) is being translated from English to Japanese. This is almost finished and will be available on the website in a matter of days!

Also, we are planning on translating the book into Spanish, French, German, and Chinese.

If you want to see it in another language, other than what is listed above, just contact me at darci@nofishinmydish.com and I will get started on it.

Thank you all for your continued support!

Darci Escandon
Publicist
"No Fish In My Dish"
www.nofishinmydish.com
darci@nofishinmydish.com

"No Fish" Update

2007-02-19T09:27:00.000-07:00

This past week was a great one for "No Fish". Our email list is growing and we have a partner in Shark Trust.

Established in 1997, the Shark Trust is a UK registered marine conservation charity dedicated to promoting the study, management, and conservation of sharks, skates and rays (elasmobranchs) in the UK and internationally. The Shark Trust is led by a Board of Trustees, who oversee a small but dedicated Conservation and administration team, a voluntary Scientific Committee and a growing number of committed supporters.
Their website is cool, with excellent photos, tons of information, games, and an innovative Adopt a Shark program. Visit the home page at www.sharktrust.org.

We look forward to a long and prosperous partnership with Shark Trust.

Also, we are pleased to have an agreement in place with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (www.aza.com) that will enable us to use their logo on the book, donate a percentage of the profits to their cause, and display the book in gift centers at member zoos and aquariums.

The PDF Version of the book is now available online. Just go to www.nofishinmydish.com and select the option, "Read the Book". Click on the "See it in Adobe PDF" and Voila! Now you can download the book via Adobe Acrobat and read it to your children, grandchildren, friends, co-workers, boss, doctor, lawyer, congressman, publisher, etc...

Stay tuned for more "No Fish" Updates.

Darci Escandon
Publicist
"No Fish In My Dish"

www.nofishinmydish.com
darci@nofishinmydish.com

Is This The Last Century For Fish?

2007-02-13T16:30:00.000-07:00

I visited the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo a few years back and was amazed at how many fish it processed in a single day. I asked myself, "How many fish can there be in the ocean?" I decided to check.

Not enough, it turns out. With the people population growing every year and the fish population declining every year and our ways of catching fish improving all the time, it was obvious that the fish couldn't last forever. In fact, that's true.

I discovered that a number of excellent books have been written on the subject of overfishing. Studies have been commissioned. Speeches have been spoken. Laws have been passed. Yet, the fish population keeps declining.

Existing material isn't working. As long as there's a market for fish, the fish will be caught. The only way to stop the depletion is to slow the buying of fish. My target became not the supply side of the problem, but the demand side. If people slow their buying, the industry will slow its catching.

Next, I had to come up with a solution. Just telling people to stop eating fish entirely wasn't reasonable. Fish are too much a part of human culture. I decided that eating fewer fish was the answer.

If we refrain from eating fish for five days a week, that'll be enough to let the populations catch up to healthy levels again. At the very least, they'll stop swimming toward decimation.

Finally, how to get that message to a world unaware of the problem? A simple book that rhymes, I decided. Another in-depth book wouldn't work. They hadn't before, why would mine be any different? I needed an entertaining book, with cute illustrations, and a story simple enough that a child could understand it. It would need to be short to get the message across quickly. Also, it should not target any specific country or culture. It should be universal.

That's the book I wrote and illustrated, and made available to you on this site. The characters have no names. They are not Chinese, American, or Japanese. They are all of us, because all of us together are causing the problem. My hope is that you:

* WILL take the book's message to heart
* WON'T eat fish for five days a week
* WILL join the no fish list
* WILL tell Darci your publicity ideas
* WILL spread the word to others about this powerful little book and its message

One day, when the book is picked up by a major publisher and featured on prime time television (thanks to Darci), you can say you saw it here first.

Why is that cool?

Because I'm still looking for a publisher and it's going to take a massive interest from good folks like you to convince a marketing department somewhere that this book is a good investment. Thanks to the internet -- and good people like you -- we have the power to make this important message known and to save the world's fish before it's too late.

Thank you for your interest!