Obama said unsafe changes in the climate, dead zones in oceans and unsustainable fishing practices means “were going to have to act and we’re going to have to act boldly”. It is his third national monument designation in the past month, following the creation of the Katahdin Woods and Waters monument in ME and the significant expansion of the Papahānaumokuākea marine monument northwest of Hawaii. Others, such as whiting and squid harvesters, have 60 days to transition out. Thanks to the president’s use of the century-old Antiquities Act, ancient coral formations will no longer face potential ruin from commercial fishing activity, and diverse and pristine habitats will allow an abundance of marine life to thrive.
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The White House said the designation will protect three underwater canyons deeper than the Grand Canyon and four underwater mountains known as “seamounts” – places where marine life thrives, with rare species of coral, fish, whales and turtles.
He also framed his commitment to the sea in highly personal terms, speaking about both his childhood growing up in Hawaii as well as his recent visit to Midway Atoll. President Obama has expanded two of those-the Pacific Remote Islands and, last month, Papahānaumokuākea, in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, which regained the mantle as the world’s largest marine reserve; it held that distinction when President Bush created it in 2006 but had been surpassed by larger reserves in other countries’ waters.
Obama, who recalled body-surfing in the Pacific Ocean while he was growing up in Hawaii, called the pledges a “pretty good down payment” but said bolder global action was needed. Obama says. “We can not protect our planet without protecting our oceans”.
Obama said conservation efforts and obligations to combat climate change go hand in hand, because marine areas have many stressors: overfishing, ship traffic and pollution that ranges from visible plastic to invisible carbon.
“We find it deplorable that the government is kicking the domestic fishing fleet out of an area where they sustainably harvest healthy fish stocks”, the Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen’s Association said in a statement.
With the announcement made surrounding the third annual Our Ocean Conference – a gathering of worldwide leaders on ocean issues – President Obama sets a high global and local precedent; he has now protected more acres of lands and waters than any president in USA history. “The industry will suffer these same disastrous consequences forever”.
“Just as wild lands around the globe are beleaguered by human development and climate change, our oceans are under duress today more than ever before”, said Jamie Williams, president of The Wilderness Society.
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Senior administration officials say to mitigate the financial harm, they’re designating a smaller area than planned, and lobster and red crab fisheries have been given a seven-year grace period before they have to comply. The red crab industry, for example, is sustainably managed, according to an independent organization that promotes sustainable fishing.
