Let’s rejoice and support any good initiative towards
a better political, economical and ecological value of ours oceans!

Right now, the government is accepting public comments on a proposed plan that would create the world’s largest Ocean Preserve!

Marine protected areas foster vibrant, healthy ocean habitats.
Located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean about halfway between Hawaii and Australia the expanded monument would protect a treasure trove of unique and irreplaceable natural resources including:
• Almost 250 seamounts, or undersea mountains—the majority of which are
• An estimated 14 million seabirds representing 19 species that use these areas as feeding and breeding grounds, including the endangered black-footed albatross and Phoenix
• Important habitat for protected species of sea turtles and marine mammals, some of which are critically endangered, like leatherback and green sea turtles, and the sei whale and blue
• Remarkably rich coral ecosystems, with corals up to 5,000 years old.

This spinner dolphin swims in the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, one of the U.S.’s nearly 1,800 marine protected areas.
Photo credit: Frans Lanting,  Corbis

Obama To Create World’s Largest Ocean Preserve

Huffingtonpost
By JOSH
Posted: 06/17/2014

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vowing to protect fragile marine life, President Barack Obama acted Tuesday to create the world’s largest ocean preserve by expanding a national monument his predecessor established in waters thousands of miles from the American mainland.
Protecting the world’s oceans and the vibrant ecosystems that thrive deep under the surface is a task that’s bigger than any one country but the U.S. must take the lead, Obama said, announcing the initiative during an ocean conservation conference.
“Let’s make sure that years from now we can look our children in the eye and tell them that, yes, we did our part, we took action, and we led the way toward a safer, more stable world,” Obama said in a video message.
Obama hasn’t settled on the final boundaries for the expanded Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, and will solicit input from fishermen, scientists and conservation experts. Obama’s senior counselor, John Podesta, said that process would start immediately and wrap up “in the very near future”.
A geographic analysis by the Pew Charitable Trusts estimated Obama could protect more than 780,000 square miles — almost nine times what Bush set aside — and far more if he included the waters around other U.S. islands in the Pacific.
“Our oceans are feeling the strain of human activity from increased acidification, overfishing, and pollution, and we need to take bold action to protect this vital natural resource,” said Carol Browner, the former Environmental Protection Agency.
But in practical terms, the expanded sanctuary will likely have a modest impact.
Very little commercial fishing is conducted around the islands. And Bob Fryklund, chief upstream strategist for analytics agency IHS Energy, said no one is currently exploring for oil or gas in the
But conservation groups said it’s critical to take proactive steps to safeguard underwater ecosystems even if direct human damage isn’t
“These are fairly long distances from any ports, and they’re very expensive to get to,” said Lance Morgan of the Marine Conservation Institute. “Still, we don’t know what all the future uses are going to
In another environmental move, Obama launched a task force to combat black-market fishing and seafood fraud, in which seafood products are mislabeled to hide their origin. One-fifth of wild marine fish caught each year are considered to be part of the black market, the White House said. The black market for fish cost the legitimate fishing industry $23 billion. The presidential memorandum calls for the task force to submit recommendations within six months.