40-40-40 ... Day 15: Shark Savers

Peter Benchley is the inspiration for today's donation. Who was Peter Benchley? Everyone knows him, even if they don't know his name. Peter Benchley was a speechwriter for President Lyndon Johnson. Peter Benchley was the first host of Shark Week. Peter Benchley wrote "Jaws". And Peter Benchley later became an advocate for environmental preservation, regretting the fact that he was famous for making one of God's creatures a villain rather than a victim.

I just finished reading another of Peter Benchley's novels, "The Girl of the Sea of Cortez." It's about a girl, Paloma, who lives in Baja, and whose father taught her to love the sea. After her father dies, Paloma struggles to fit in with her family, her community, society as a whole. While her mother would rather she help with housework, Paloma would rather go diving. While her brother sees fish as a means to a profit, Paloma sees them as an essential part of God's creation. Benchley wrote this novel after having a personal encounter with a manta ray that changed the way he would look at the sea forever. The book was riveting, heartbreaking, and filled with life lessons (and not just ones about the sea).

"The Girl of the Sea of Cortez" is almost as old as I am. And yet the challenges continue.

I took the above photo today, of the protests that are a regular sight here in San Felipe. Back in November, the protests led to the closing down of our highway, completely blocking traffic between us and the U.S. border. Environmentalists want to put a stop to fishing in the Sea of Cortez. It started out that just certain nets were banned, and then certain lines, and then the government began paying people NOT to fish. But this is their livelihoods. How can they not fight for it?

The struggle is real. Just like in the book, Paloma knew that fishing was her family's career, yet she also knew that not everyone respected the fish and the waters. What do you do when a handful of people would rather kill off every last fish in order to find the one fish whose bladder will bring a high price? What do you do when people get so hungry, so depressed, that they don't care any more that the vaquita porpoise, which is only found in the Sea of Cortez, is now considered critically endangered -- the most endangered of all marine mammals today? There has to be a balance. A way to respect both the waters and the people who God gave dominion over its creatures.

ACTION STEPS

READ "The Girl of the Sea of Cortez". (Currently only $1.99 on kindle, and includes photos of Peter Benchley riding a manta ray!)
LEARN more about our adorable little vaquita. You will totally fall in love with this little snub-nosed porpoise. It is believed that there are only 30 left in existence.
"ADOPT" an animal from the World Wildlife Federation. There are over 100 animals to choose from.
WATCH one of the videos put out by WildAid, against poaching, etc.
CHECK OUT this description of 10 organizations who are dedicated to marine conservation. DONATE to one of them, or to the Environmental Defense Fund, which focuses on mitigating climate change, restoring the ocean's bounty, protecting wildlife and their habitats.

*NOTE: I always make my donation before posting the blog so I can let you know if there are any tricks involved. My intention was to donate to Shark Savers today, but their donation site is not currently active. Shark Savers is an affiliate of WildAid, so I decided to make my donation there instead. But it's donation site was down also. SO, I was finally able to donate to the Environmental Defense Fund! Who knew giving away $40 would be so difficult!