The United States President Barack Obama on 15 September 2016 designated the country’s first marine national monument, Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, in the Atlantic Ocean.
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Located approximately 150 miles off the coast of Cape Cod, the 4,913 square mile Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument is the latest addition to the National Wildlife Refuge System and will be jointly administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The new national monument – which encompasses pristine underwater mountains and canyons – will provide critical protections for important ecological resources and marine species, including deep-sea coral and endangered whales and sea turtles.
Last month, Obama expanded a massive reserve off the coast of Hawaii, the world’s largest such protected area, as he works to cement his environmental legacy. More than 20 countries attending the conference will announce the creation of their own marine protected areas.
Kerry also said that illegal fishing causes losses amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars each year and is linked with organized crime and drug trafficking, as well as forced labor. “It’s a big blow to us”, said Jon Williams, president of the Atlantic Red Crab Company in New Bedford, Massachusetts.
White House officials said the administration listened to the concerns of the industry and pointed out that the monument is smaller than originally proposed and contains a transition period for companies like the one Williams runs.
While we’ve made great strides in stewardship of our oceans, they face threats from climate change, dead zones and unsustainable fishing practices. “They gave my industry seven years in order to make adjustments so we have seven years to think about how we’re going to do business afterwards”.
“The notion that the ocean I grew up with is not something I can pass on to my kids and my grandkids is unacceptable”, the president said. He said the investments the USA and other nations were taking with new marine protected areas were vital for their economy and national security, but “also vital to our spirit”.
The conference was hosted by Secretary of State John Kerry, whom Obama praised for drawing attention to climate change and ocean health. President Barack Obama said Friday that the violence in Libya “is just one more chapter in the change that is unfolding” across the Middle East and North Africa. The.
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Environmental groups pushed the effort to designate the new monument and said it was as important to be good stewards of the ocean as it was the land and air. Undersea mountains and canyons deeper than Grand Canyon are home to many rare species. Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Obama had gone with “more sensible boundary limits to the monument” in seeking to balance environmental goals with economic interests.
