New England’s Canyons and Seamounts gets support

After a long fight, the whales, dolphins and centuries-old deep sea coral of the Northeast Canyons & Seamounts Marine National Monument are one step closer to full protection.

Created by President Obama in 2016, this area southeast of Cape Cod saw its protections rolled back during the Trump administration. Today, those protections have been restored, thanks to President Biden.

But protections on paper can only go so far: in order ensure this ocean life hotspot is providing a true refuge from destructive human activities, we need monument managers to have a strong plan to enforce protections, as well as monitor emerging threats.

That’s why I was excited to see over 11,000 people weigh in on Environment America’s petition in the most recent public comment letter.

Here’s what they said:

Dear Superintendent Petersen,

From whales to deep sea coral, the Northeast Canyons & Seamounts is a hotspot for amazing ocean life. Thanks to President Biden, this area is once again one of the best protected parts of the U.S. Atlantic.

To make the most of these protections, we need to:

• Create the resources to enforce the area’s critical protections, including protections against commercial fishing.

• Do more research in the next few years that can help us understand and mitigate new threats to the area’s ocean life.
• Bring this science to more of the public, to inspire love and action to protect the ocean.

I urge you to keep these efforts front and center in your agencies’ actions, and want to thank you for doing everything you can to keep this New England ocean treasure safe for future generations.

Sincerely,

This strong voice for the ocean will help ensure this ocean treasure stays safe. Forever.