“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,” noted Oceana honoree Hansjörg Wyss. “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.”
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Susan Cohn Rockefeller. (Photo: Sean Zanni/PatrickMcMullan.com) |
On Wednesday, April 1st, Oceana, the largest global organization committed solely to protecting the world’s oceans, hosted its New York City Gala. Held at the stunning Pool Room at The Four Seasons Restaurant, the soiree paid tribute to the recent pledge by the Wyss Foundation to Oceana’s Save the Oceans: Feed the World campaign. The Wyss Foundation’s ten million dollar grant will assist with the rebuilding of fisheries. Hansjörg Wyss, Michael R. Bloomberg, Sam Waterston, Katherine Waterston, and Susan and David Rockefeller hosted the event.
The gala celebrated Hansjörg Wyss’ generous contribution to protecting and restoring oceans worldwide. This marked the first grant in support of sea safeguarding from Wyss, a well-known land conservationist. “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,” said Three-term New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. Funds from the grant will assist scientists and policy experts in Canada and Peru, who are working towards rebuilding fisheries in both countries. Canada and Peru account for close to 14 percent of all the wild ocean fish landed by weight and with the addition of these new offices, Oceana is currently represented in countries that control close to 40 percent of the wild fish caught in our oceans.
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Theodore Roosevelt IV, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Hansjorg Wyss, and David Rockefeller. (Photo: Sean Zanni/PatrickMcMullan.com) |
“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,” expressed Mayor Bloomberg, who donated a large grant last year to Oceana, in support of the management of industrial fishing and small-scale fishing.
For more information, visit oceana.org.
