COA has actively supported the special protections for the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine Monument, a unique marine area in the North Atlantic Ocean, about 100-150 miles off the coast of New England, lending our COA name and testimony. On October 8, 2021, President Joe Biden restored protections, which had been rescinded by the previous administration, by limiting fishing in those waters and on the ocean floor there.
This slide (#24) featuring a rare Cahow that our own Nick Bonomo found in Northeast Canyons waters in 2019 was part of a live presentation on March 5, 2021 to the US Dept of Interior (Copy of NECSMNM DOI Listening Session – Google Slides). A DOI person told us later that this photograph supported their thinking about this issue and this body of water, that it was biologically special enough to attract rare birds like this Bermuda Petrel.
This is great news for COA and many of our partner organizations who have fought for this for years. It has to make us all feel good that some in government understand that birds can be important indicator species for the health of entire ecosystems, including marine ecosystems.
Thanks also to Prof. Peter Auster (of Mystic Aquarium and UConn) for being a strong ally during these years and being a major force in the progress.
Thanks to all of you for your firm and long support for this, including all recent COA Presidents who strongly advocated this since this issue heated-up a decade ago.