This Seaspiracy Petition Could Actually Change The World

     Petitions don't exactly have a stellar reputation among the environmental community or the activist community at large, but, utilized properly and with a variety of other tools, they can be an effective and powerful method of change. Case in point: Seaspiracy.

     The anti-fishing documentary was released in March 2021. Within a week, it was in the Top 10 on Netflix in more than 30 countries, earning as much praise as it caused controversy in the form of literally hundreds of articles in major and minor news outlets: the fishing industry was on the defensive even before the documentary was released.

     Seizing on this momentum, Ali and Lucy Tabrizi launched a petition to officials in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, and numerous other nations demanding 30 percent of the oceans be protected from industrial fishing by 2030. Thailand shot itself in the foot by blocking the petition in their nation (innocent people have nothing to hide), which was among numerous developments that helped the petition soar to 600,000 signatures within 15 days.

     Many nations have committed to creating or are creating marine reserves, but few of these areas are actually protected from industrial fishing activity, in essence serving as commercial targets in all but name. This petition, launched after the documentary alongside a website with numerous other roles in the new movement, is on track to get millions of signatures within the year from every nation addressed to every world leader.

     In short, this petition could actually change the world, not because leaders will be swayed by its necessity, but because it lets them know that the people of the world will hold them accountable to creating policies that protect, not loot, our natural treasures.