US Allows Commercial Fishing in Protected Area

From 3 April this year, commercial fishing is permitted within the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument. The area, which covers a surface area as big as Connecticut, is located in the Atlantic Ocean off the US east coast and was established to protect and preserve these unique and pristine marine environments for future generations.

^{Text: Lena Scherman}

The decision has been taken by NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) but follows an explicit presidential decree to open up the area to greater commercial fishing along the US Atlantic coast.

The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument states on its website that it is “a vast area of high biodiversity in the open ocean – larger than Yellowstone National Park – with magnificent geological formations that characterise the underwater landscape and provide a habitat for a rich marine life.”

Thanks to upwellings of deep, cold water, the area is rich in marine life such as Atlantic deep-sea red crab, squid, Atlantic bluefin tuna and swordfish.

In response to the decision, NOAA states that it is proud to fulfil the Trump administration’s campaign pledge to put American fishermen first and that this will increase economic opportunities for American fishermen.

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