Oceana, the largest international organization dedicated solely to protecting the world’s oceans, celebrated the recent commitment by the Wyss Foundation to help rebuild fisheries at its annual New York City Gala last week.
Hansjorg Wyss, Michael R. Bloomberg, Sam Waterston, Katherine Waterston, and Susan and David Rockefeller hosted the festivities. Musician Kate Davis performed at the event. The evening highlighted the Wyss Foundation’s ten million dollar grant as a key contribution to Oceana’s campaign to Save the Oceans: Feed the World. The benefit took place in the beautiful Pool Room at The Four Seasons Restaurant in New York City.
Oceana honored Hansjorg Wyss’ contribution to protecting and restoring our oceans. Well-known as a land conservationist, Wyss’ first grant for the oceans will support scientists and policy experts in Canada and Peru who are working toward rebuilding fisheries in these two key countries that account for close to 14 percent of all the wild ocean fish landed by weight. With the addition of these two international offices, Oceana is now active in countries that control close to 40 percent of the wild fish caught in our oceans.
Three-term New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who last year made a large grant to Oceana in order to support the management of industrial fishing and small-scale fishing simultaneously, commented, “protecting oceans from overfishing isn’t just an environmental issue—it’s an urgent public health and economic issue as well, and this investment from the Wyss Foundation will have a positive impact on so many lives. Hansjorg Wyss’s generous support for Oceana will help us build on the great progress we are making around the world to protect the oceans — and people’s health and livelihoods.”
Wyss remarked, “for too long, we have turned our back on the world’s oceans, pushing fisheries — and the communities that depend on them — to the brink. The task of restoring the health of our oceans is immense, but with the right resources and locally-developed, science-based policies, we can bring life back to the oceans for the benefit of current and future generations.”
Source: Oceana.org
