The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has released its final management plan for the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
“I applaud the release of the final management plan, a critical and giant stride by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [USFWS] and NOAA to realizing the potential for stewarding our interactions with, teaching about, and studying the inner workings of this ocean wilderness,” Mystic Aquarium Senior Research Scientist Peter Auster said in a statement.
The new plan, released 4 June by NOAA and USFWS, delineates agency management roles and responsibilities for the monuments and lays out the government’s objectives for the next 15 years.
“Release of this plan is a thrilling next step in our fight to preserve a precious, pristine marine ecosystem – a fight that I have been proud to help lead,” U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) said in a statement. “This step brings us closer to permanent protection of habitat and wildlife in a historic marine national monument. We should be passionate about saving this exquisite part of our planet for ourselves and future generations. I’m determined to continue the fight for this national treasure with strong environmental allies.”
The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument was established in 2016 by the administration of then-U.S. President Barack Obama. Located 130 miles off the coast, the 4,913-square-mile area includes three massive canyons and four extinct underwater volcanoes. Former U.S. President Donald Trump rescinded a ban on commercial fishing in the monument in 2020, but Biden restored the ban in 2021.
“With canyons deeper than the Grand Canyon, seamounts taller than any mountain east of the Rocky Mountains, and Gulf currents that well up to the surface, the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument is the ‘Serengeti of the Sea,’” USFWS Director Martha Williams said. “There are so many discoveries still awaiting us in this incredible place, and we are excited to work with our partners at NOAA Fisheries to engage communities in its stewardship and study.”
The New England Aquarium documented more than 700 animals in the area during a 2023 aerial survey, and the new plan is part of the Biden administration’s ongoing America the Beautiful objective, which aims to conserve 30 percent of lands and waters by 2030.
