Stop Construction of Ocean Expo in Mississippi ~

[Carolyn Bailey]

A new dolphin facility is planned for D'Iberville, Mississippi.

Moby Solangi, Director of the Institute of Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport Mississippi, is working with the City of D'Iberville and the United States Government to have the facility built. The City of D'Iberville has purchased the land and will be paying for the water lines that will run from the facility to the Gulf for the purpose of pumping in saltwater. The federal government has awarded Solangi a $10 million dollar grant and there is a request in by Senator Thad Cochran for an additional $15 million in funds.

The building of such a facility will encourage the capture of marine mammals.

The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) of 1972 was the first article of legislation to call specifically for an ecosystem approach to natural resource management and conservation. MMPA prohibits the taking of marine mammals, and enacts a moratorium on the import, export, and sale of any marine mammal, along with any marine mammal part or product within the United States. The U.S. Congress defines "take" as the act of hunting, killing, capture, and/or harassment of any marine mammal; or, the attempt at such. The MMPA provides for enforcement of its prohibitions, and for the issuance of regulations to implement its legislative goals.

• Target: Governor of Mississippi, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement
• Sponsored by: Animal Advocates

We ask that you halt the construction of this facility, by signing the petition HERE

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/883/182/723/

Governor of Mississippi

Haley Barbour

P.O. Box 139

Jackson, Mississippi 39205

Phone: [phone] or 601-359-3150

E-Mail: [e-mail]

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D, Administrator

1401 Constitution Avenue, NW
Room 5128
Washington, DC 20230

NOAA Fisheries Service
Fisheries Office for Law Enforcement

Lesli Bales-Sherrod

301-427-2300 x103 
8484 Georgia Avenue
Suite 415 
Silver Spring, MD 20910