Obama Just Created the First Marine National Monument in the Atlantic Ocean

The Obama administration announced plans Thursday to establish the first ever marine national monument in the Atlantic Ocean just off of Cape Cod, NPR reports.

As a part of the Our Ocean conference, President Obama will be designating a subterranean jungle the size of Connecticut as the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument. The monument will preserve 4,913 square miles of underwater canyons, coral reefs, extinct volcanos, and exotic wildlife that all lie deep below sea level off the coast of Massachusetts.

"It's gonna be increasingly important as [climate change's] impacts increase," Brad Sewall, an environmental activist from the National Resources Defense Council, told NPR. "We need to have these protected reservoirs of resilience."

In addition to Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, President Obama recently expanded the Hawaiian marine national monument, Papahānaumokuākea. With recent climate change research, these initiatives have been some of the most permanent efforts the administration has made to preserve beaches and canyons.

Despite the positive intentions, several New England fisherman are pretty upset about the new designation. Bob Vanasse, a spokesman for the National Coalition of Fishing Communities, fears that the monument will be totally detrimental to the fishing industry.

"We anticipate the offshore lobster industry will be affected to the tune of about $10 million per year," Vanasse told NPR. "On top of that, one of most affected industries is going to be the Atlantic red crab industry. It is going to be very significantly impacted."

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