Most commercial fishing will be immediately prohibited within the new monument, with some considerations to local lobster and crab fisheries, which will have several years to scale down operations. “With that same boldness, President Obama is conserving the crown jewels of our nation’s seascape”, Rhea Suh, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, reportedly said. And others, including Collin O’Mara, president of the National Wildlife Federation, said the designation was a vital step in the protection of marine life.
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Named the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, the “underwater Yellowstone” is the size of CT. “As we know, fully protected marine areas are six times more resilient to the harsh impacts of climate change and a vital tool in protecting the health of our ocean and our communities for future generations”.
In a letter last month to White House officials, New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell outlined concerns with a monument designation.
Recreational fishing will still be permitted within the monument’s boundaries. “We are also troubled by the possible precedent-setting effect of the contemplated executive action, which has not been subjected to the level of scrutiny ordinarily reserved for temporary ocean closures”.
The statement adds that the ocean conference this week will announce more than “120 significant ocean conservation projects, including nearly $2 billion in new pledges and commitments to protect more than two million square kilometers in new or expanded marine protected areas”. With climate change already affecting ocean conditions-recent research has found the nearby Gulf of ME warming faster than 99 percent of the world’s marine waters-the monument will serve as an increasingly important refuge for the region’s sea life.
“By protecting ecologically sensitive areas of our ocean, the United States is leading on an issue that is important to people on every continent because of the ocean’s connection to food security, shared prosperity, and resiliency in the face of climate change”, Secretary of State John Kerry reportedly said. He said, “The richness and diversity of our marine resources are being decimated by reckless and illicit fishing practices”.
NEWS: Climate Change: Why Haven’t We Done More? The White House said the monument is home to protected species such as the sperm, fin and sei whales, and Kemp’s ridley turtles.
The president will announce Thursday the new marine reserve at an ocean conservation meeting in Washington.
“President Obama’s designation is historic for the Atlantic Ocean and contributes to global commitments to protect special ocean places”, said Lee Crockett, who oversees the US ocean conservation project at The Pew Charitable Trusts.
The monument’s four undersea peaks-Mytilus, Bear, Physalia, and Retriever-are extinct volcanoes that are part of the only underwater mountain range off the U.S. East Coast.
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In between expansive canyons, towering underwater mountains known as seamounts rise from the sea floor to heights of over 7,700 feet.
