This Mother’s Day I don’t want flowers, a box of chocolates or a special brunch.
I want something that I can give back to my daughter, sons, and their children. Something that our family has always enjoyed. Something that has truly become a part of our everyday lives. It’s something I fear they may never be able to enjoy again or for much longer.
For Mother’s Day I want the gift of healthy seas.
My heart is breaking from a recent video I watched. It showed inhumane acts of cruelty to dolphins, sharks, and many other creatures being senselessly killed on the decks of a driftnet boat just off the California coast.
The future of our seas are at risk from California’s driftnet fishery.
The ocean is a critical part of who I am and who my family is. I live in Southern California, I see the ocean almost every day. I am recharged by the feeling of the sand between my toes, the smell of the sea, and the hiss of the wind. I am in touch with something wild and wonderful.
The ocean is about connection and healing. The ocean heals you from within and gives you a sense of ease and relaxation. The first thing everyone does is overindulge the beaches fresh salty air, am I right?
My family and I share a special bond with the ocean. My daughter, Tasia, and I created our own luxury swimwear and resort wear brand, Tashion LA. Tashion LA is more than just swimwear. We are talented, we invest extra to be pro USA, we over deliver to satisfy our customers and clients, we take sustainability seriously, and we dive into charities to give a lending hand and donations.
It wasn’t easy breaking in to the luxury swimwear and resort wear industry, but we wanted to create meaningful change by providing products that connect people to the ocean. We do responsible business for people, for the environment and for our oceans.
What the California driftnet fishery is doing to helpless animals is not responsible business. I was shocked I literally cried because I got so angry. Why would someone intentionally torture and kill a dolphin on their boat and then dump it overboard for the ocean to clean up their horrible mess?
These nets capture and drown all sorts of animals: whales,dolphins, sharks, sea turtles, birds, and more. These nets take too many animals out of the seas. This is also happening because for our own comfort, we must have a meal at arm’s length which requires large amounts of fish to be taken from the ocean and being mass produced to sustain the quantity of food for our population. More people equals a higher demand in supply.
Regulations need to be put into place. Not to stop fishing or eating at your favorite
restaurants but to stop mass production of fishing with huge nets that capture innocent animals.
These actions will destroy our lovely paradise, fresh salty air we love to breath, beautiful whale watching excursions, dolphins playfully chasing after your boat, etc.
The ocean has been an important connection between Tasia and I. It’s been a way to cement that mother-daughter bond we all crave so much. The ocean is what inspired us to even be in business at all. It gave us motivation to chase after something exciting and fun.
Ever since Tasia was around seven years old she participated in a scouts program that I helped lead. As a group, we visited the Pacific Marine Mammal Center and were so touched by the animals we saw that we decided to donate the proceeds of our cookie sales to help sea life. We even adopted a seal we named Hitchhiker and donated to have him nursed to health and release him back to the ocean.
Protecting the oceans continues to be a part of who we are. My daughter and I regularly spend weekend days helping clean plastic and other trash in our local beaches. We hosted a fashion show that publicized an ocean protection group’s conservation efforts. I’m in love with the ocean and will do everything in my power to protect it and all I want for Mother’s Day is:
- An end to the cruel killing of dolphins, sharks, sea turtles and other creatures.
- Driftnets to be banned from California’s coasts.
- Federal and state legislators to take action today to end this travesty.
Right now, two bills are working their way through California and the federal legislature.
If you love the ocean at all please take action and help. With this legislation, our children and our children’s children can continue to experience and enjoy the ocean as we do.
This Mother’s Day I want the gift of healthy seas.
