Obama Initiates Marine National Monument in Atlantic

President of the United States Barack Obama has under the Antiquities Act designated the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument.

The monument, more than 100 miles southeast of Cape Cod in the northwest Atlantic Ocean, is home to undersea canyons and seamounts that comprise fragile and largely pristine deep marine ecosystems and rich biodiversity, including important deep sea corals, endangered whales and sea turtles, other marine mammals and numerous fish species.

The monument designation comes after significant engagement with local communities and fishermen.

The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument includes two areas: one that includes four undersea mountains – Bear, Mytilus, Physalia, and Retriever; and an area that includes three undersea canyons – Oceanographer, Lydonia, and Gilbert that cut deep into the continental shelf. The combined area is approximately 4,913 square miles. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, will manage the monument.

Both areas have been the sites of active scientific exploration, investigation, and discovery by oceanographic researchers. The New England seamounts have been found to have many rare and native species, several of which are new to science and known to live nowhere else on Earth. Recently, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s research vessel Okeanos Explorer identified 15 species of coral in the area that had not been previously reported.

Commercial fishing, with the exception of a seven-year phase out for existing permits of the red crab fishery and the American lobster fishery, and other resource extraction activities will be prohibited within the monument boundaries. Additionally, a 60-day grace period is in effect to ensure an orderly transition for all fisheries (other than red crab and American lobster) that are prohibited in the monument. Noncommercial fishing, such as recreational fishing, will be allowed in the expansion area by permit, as will scientific research.