Submitted by: Suzanne Oboler, Professor, Latin American and Latinx Studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice
“I like to say that I used to sell the fish, and now I save them. Growing up blocks from the US-Mexico border AND the Pacific Ocean has a way of staying with you. Looking back on this, it’s no surprise that I ended up working for an international seafood company at the start of my career. Despite not having grown up with specific dreams of becoming a fishmonger, this job farming Bluefin tuna in the open ocean offered exciting professional opportunities. Also on offer? A front row seat to the growing problem of overfishing. Scrambling daily to come up with hundreds of tons of fresh sardines to feed a dwindling number of Bluefin tuna tends to make a person question business as usual. When a study came out in 2006 predicting an almost empty ocean by the year 2048, I realized I needed to change course.”
This public domain paper was obtained from the organization’s website at: http://www.lamadretierra.org/wp-content/uploads/Verde-Paper-Latino-Perspectives-on-Conservation-Leadership.pdf