1st LD Writethru: Obama designates first U.S. Atlantic marine monument

U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday designated the country's first marine national monument in the Atlantic Ocean that aims to protect fragile deep-sea ecosystems off the coast of New England, a region famous for its fishing industry.

Obama made this announcement at the third annual Our Ocean Conference in Washington D.C. hosted by Secretary of State John Kerry, a meeting that focuses on issues related to marine-protected areas, sustainable fisheries, marine pollution, and climate-related impacts on the ocean.

"The notion that the ocean I grew up with is not something that I can pass on to my kids and my grandkids is unacceptable," Obama said at the first day of the two-day event, after recalling his own childhood in Hawaii.

"Dangerous changes in our climate, caused mainly by human activity; dead zones in our ocean, caused mainly by pollution that we create here on land; unsustainable fishing practices; unprotected marine areas, in which rare species and entire ecosystems are at risk -- all those things are happening now," the U.S. president said.

"They've been happening for a long time. So if we're going to leave our children with oceans like the ones that were left to us then we're going to have to act. And we're going to have to act boldly."

The new marine preserve, known as the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, will protect 4,913 square miles (12,725 square kilometers) of ecosystems encompassing three underwater canyons deeper than the Grand Canyon, and four underwater mountains.

It will provide habitat for protected species such as sea turtles and marine mammals, including endangered sperm, fin, and sei whales and Kemp's ridley turtles, the White House said in a background statement.

It noted that the designation will lead to a ban on commercial fishing but a seven-year exception will be granted for the red crab and lobster fisheries.

Opponents, however, complained that the move will hurt the fishing industry in New England, a geographical region which comprises six northeastern U.S. states: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.

"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 stroke of a pen, President Obama has put fishermen and their crews out of work and harmed the shoreside businesses that rely on the fishing economy."

Thursday's designation followed Obama's decision last month to expand the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument off the coast of Hawaii by 442,781 square miles (1.1 million square kilometers), creating the world's largest marine protected area.

"These actions reflect President Obama's commitment to the goals of combatting climate change and protecting our ocean, in a way that respects local communities, economies and native practices," the White House statement said.

The White House said that more than 20 countries attending the annual ocean conservation meeting will announce the creation of 40 significant new marine protected areas, totaling nearly 460,000 square miles (1.2 million square kilometers) of ocean.

When combined with the Papahanaumokuakea expansion, the nations of the world have protected more than 900,000 square miles (2.3 million square kilometers) of ocean in 2016, exceeding last year's record of more than 730,000 square miles (1.9 million square kilometers), it added. Endit