In a video message to those attending the second-annual Our Ocean conference in Chile, US president Barack Obama announced the establishment of the first new marine sanctuaries in the country since 2000, while also promising to do more to combat illegal fishing.
According to Reuters and The Washington Post, the president said that the US was “committed to working with our international partners to protect our oceans and protect our planet, because I refuse to leave our children a planet that’s beyond their capacity to repair.”
One of the two proposed marine sanctuaries will be established at a 14 square mile (36 square kilometer) section of the Mallows Bay-Potomac River region in Maryland, while the other will be an 875 square mile (2,265 square kilometer) area of Lake Michigan off the cost of Wisconsin. They will be the first new national marine sanctuaries in the US since 2000.
The Lake Michigan site is known for a collection of nearly 40 known shipwrecks, some of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, according to Reuters. Meanwhile, the other site is home to bald eagles, herons, beavers, river otters, and several types of fish, according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
US to crack down on illegal fishing; Chile also establishes new sanctuary
The two regions were originally nominated for sanctuary status last year after officials with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reopened the public nomination process for the first time in more than two decades. A total of seven nominations were submitted, and additional potential sanctuary sites are currently being reviewed.
Secretary of State John Kerry also told the conference that the US was in negotiations to create a new marine-protected area agreement with Cuba to share research data on sites located between the two former Cold War rivals. He also claims the US is planning to launch the global Sea Scout initiative in order to help crack down on illegal or unregulated fishing networks.
The Sea Scout initiative “provides a real opportunity to improve coordination and information sharing around the world as a way to combat illegal fishing,” Beth Lowell, the senior campaign director for the conservation group Oceana, told The Washington Post. She said that the group “applauds” the move, but said that “full-chain traceability” was required “for all US seafood to ensure that it’s safe, legally caught, and honestly labeled.”
Also at the Our Ocean conference, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet announced the formation of one of the largest marine sanctuaries in the world – a protected area that includes Easter Island and more than 114,000 square miles (297,000 square kilometers) in the part of the Pacific Ocean surrounding the San Ambrosio and San Felix islands, published reports indicate.
—–
Feature Image: Thinkstock
Comments