Recently, Bloomberg Philanthropies, the enormous charitable foundation of New York City's former mayor, Michael Bloomberg, announced its Vibrant Oceans Initiative, a $53 million, five-year effort to boost fish populations in Brazil, the Philippines and Chile. Reforming fishing practices in these countries will revitalize 7 percent of the world's fisheries.
According to the Foundation website:
Proper management of fisheries can increase the number of fish in the ocean by 50%. Most of the world's fisheries are within national boundaries, allowing countries to implement management policies that can protect against harmful over-fishing. But we need a comprehensive approach that helps replenish fish populations more quickly, and creates a more sustainable and fruitful environment for all fishers.
Bloomberg Philanthropies is applying a groundbreaking approach to fisheries management that for the first time will focus on reforming both industrial and local fishing simultaneously. Reforming both in the same place at the same time will have a much larger impact than targeting one or the other because local fishers and industrial vessels catch roughly equal amounts of fish for food. To put this bold approach into motion, the Bloomberg Philanthropies Vibrant Oceans Initiative brings together three world-class partners with distinct areas of expertise: