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With this issue, we celebrate the first 100 issues of ShowBoats International.
by Jim Gilbert
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08/01/2005
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With this issue, we celebrate the first 100 issues of
ShowBoats International. Among the highlights of the magazine’s
early years was an open letter to your father, an original subscriber, published
on this page in September of 1991 at the height of the Luxury Tax crisis in the
boating industry. I find myself 15 years later writing a second open letter to
the president, who happens to be the son of the first. It was a great source of
pride to the magazine staff that the first letter produced a swift and positive
response. Considering the even more vital nature of the issue I address today,
we hope this letter will produce an equally strong and encouraging response.
ShowBoats also has taken extreme pride in its
leadership role in the cause of marine conservation. Over the years, our
fundraising efforts have generated many millions of dollars for coral reef
preservation and, more recently, for promoting sea water and marine atmospheric
monitoring aboard luxury yachts and ships in order to provide scientists and
resource managers with critically needed data.
In a recent speech, you pointed out the superb record of the
United States in improving its air and water quality during the past few
decades. You said the strong growth of this nation’s economy proves it is,
indeed, possible to enjoy sustainable economic growth and improved environmental
quality. We believe the vast majority of our readers agree with this philosophy.
We also applaud your leadership in marine conservation, in particular your
appointment of a U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, chaired by Adm. James Watkins,
whose exhaustive, critically acclaimed report you accepted last year. Perhaps
you have learned that we will present Adm. Watkins with the prestigious 2005
SeaKeeper Award during the ShowBoats Rendezvous in Monaco in June.
While America enjoys high standards of clean air and water, in
the 16 years since this magazine began publication, conditions in the oceans
have deteriorated drastically. The 17 most important food fishes in the world
have all declined, at average, to less than 90 percent of their historic levels,
some with populations so low they have little or no prospects for recovery. The
shark and large predator populations, used by many scientists as an overall
indication of the health of marine ecosystems, have declined by more than 15
percent in the last 17 years and the entire global population is estimated at
substantially less than 10 percent of optimal populations, with 65 different
species listed as globally threatened by the World Conservation Union. The
mighty cod, which spurred the early growth of the American colonies and arguably
provided much of the financing for the American Revolution, is struggling to
remain a viable commercial fishery off New England.
The threat to America, and to the world, from a declining
marine ecosystem is not simply measured by the availability of food for the
table, but also by its impact on human health, especially from pollution and the
growth in frequency and intensity of such phenomenon as red tides. Coastal
erosion due to the effects of climatic shifts, such as El Niño and La Niña, and
rising sea levels are taking an increasing toll on coastal wetlands and property
values in waterfront communities on every coast. It is important, I think, to
note that half of America’s GNP is now produced in its watersheds and coastal
zones.
As global citizens, we fear that the declining ability to build
sustainable economies around commercial fishing and ocean-based tourism is
leaving many emerging nations unable to realize their dreams of political
freedom. As you have so carefully and thoughtfully articulated, there can
not be political freedom without concurrent economic growth.
Recreational boaters are firsthand witnesses to the eroding
quality of the sea, and we are unified in our wish to preserve and improve the
quality and quantity of marine resources to permit future generations to enjoy
the blessings of clean, fertile oceans. Every major religion teaches that
nurturing and protecting all forms of life is our sacred obligation.
As we anticipate the next 100 issues of ShowBoats, we look to
a world with healthier oceans. A century ago one of our great leaders, President
Teddy Roosevelt, like yourself a Republican and an avid outdoorsman, looked into
the future and became frightened at what he saw. Before the beautiful wild
places of America became lost to its citizens, he set aside vast areas for the
enjoyment, nourishment and inspiration of future generations. The Oceans
Commission report offers its own disheartening glimpse into the future. We
applaud your recent establishment of a U.S. Ocean Action Plan, and urge you to
begin funding the report’s sound and practical conclusions, in particular the
deployment of a desperately needed global monitoring system. We ask this not
simply as wealthy yachtsmen looking for clean water for our boats. We ask this
for our grandchildren and yours, and for the billions of people around the world
who are desperate for the freedom and opportunity that can only be built on the
foundation of clean and productive seas.
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