Good news for sea turtles!
President Biden has announced that he hopes to designate the aquatic Hudson Canyon as a national marine sanctuary.
A green sea turtle swims in the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. NOAA/PIFSC/PSD/Ali Bayless/NOAA
A diver explores Grecian shipwreck at Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. James Mott/NOAA
About 100 miles southeast of New York City, Hudson Canyon is the largest underwater canyon in the U.S portion of the Atlantic Ocean. It is also a biodiversity hotspot for sensitive species including sperm whales, cold-water coral, and sea turtles. The site is more than seven miles wide and two miles deep at its lowest point and is also home to a number of shipwrecks, including freighters and U.S military radar platforms, with some dating back to the 19th Century.
Creating a Hudson Canyon sanctuary would mean that the federal government would have more say in the activities allowed in the sanctuary. The rules will be developed after a public comment period.
“The canyon’s rich biodiversity is integral to the region’s economy, underpinning commercial and recreational fisheries, recreational diving, whale-watching, and birding.”
Statement from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA)
Hudson Canyon is the second marine sanctuary that President Biden has backed. Before he took office, Biden pledged to conserve 30% of the U.S. land and water by 2030 as part of a global push to address climate change.
The national marine sanctuary system has 15 underwater parks, two national monuments in the U.S., and a network of more than 620,000 square miles of aquatic ecosystems.
An octopus, sea star, bivalves, and dozens of cup corals all share the same overhang in an area adjacent to the Hudson Canyon off the coast of New York and New Jersey. These are very typical of what occurs throughout this area. (NOAA/BOEM/USGS)
Biden has tried to make climate a central part of his policy, he has turned to executive actions to try and advance his environmental agenda. He has also invoked the Defense Production Act to expand American solar panel manufacturing and other clean energy technology and building insulation for much more efficient heat pumps for buildings.
NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries invites the public to participate in the first step in the process to potentially designate a new national marine sanctuary off the coast of New York and New Jersey. The Wildlife Conservation Society submitted a nomination for a Hudson Canyon National Marine Sanctuary in November 2016, noting that the area provides a wide range of benefits to New York and New Jersey residents such as clean air, fresh water, recreation, and food.
A pair of mating deep-sea red crabs rests on a ledge of a canyon wall in Hudson Canyon off the coast of New York and New Jersey. (NOAA/BOEM/USGS)
