Saving Seafood

The Threats Facing Deep-Sea Corals Off New England’s Coast

September 26, 2017 — About one hundred miles off the coast of Massachusetts, there are dramatic mountains and canyons, some larger than the Grand Canyon. Of course, they’re hidden under hundreds to thousands of feet of water. And they’re home to fragile and slow-growing deep-sea corals, and entire ecosystems that live on and around them.

Last September, President Obama declared nearly 5,000 square miles, encompassing three canyons and four seamounts, a marine national monument – the first on the Atlantic seaboard. The designation prohibited all commercial activity, including fishing and oil exploration.

Now, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has recommended that President Trump amend the designation to lift the ban on commercial fishing. If the president takes the advice, it doesn’t mean anything goes in that area. Instead, it returns oversight and regulation of fishing to the New England Fishery Management Council and federal officials.

Read and listen to the full story at WCAI

Presidential Proclamation — Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument

September 16, 2016 — The following was released by the White House:

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

For generations, communities and families have relied on the waters of the northwest Atlantic Ocean and have told of their wonders. Throughout New England, the maritime trades, and especially fishing, have supported a vibrant way of life, with deep cultural roots and a strong connection to the health of the ocean and the bounty it provides. Over the past several decades, the Nation has made great strides in its stewardship of the ocean, but the ocean faces new threats from varied uses, climate change, and related impacts. Through exploration, we continue to make new discoveries and improve our understanding of ocean ecosystems. In these waters, the Atlantic Ocean meets the continental shelf in a region of great abundance and diversity as well as stark geological relief. The waters are home to many species of deep-sea corals, fish, whales and other marine mammals. Three submarine canyons and, beyond them, four undersea mountains lie in the waters approximately 130 miles southeast of Cape Cod. This area (the canyon and seamount area) includes unique ecological resources that have long been the subject of scientific interest.

The canyon and seamount area, which will constitute the monument as set forth in this proclamation, is composed of two units, which showcase two distinct geological features that support vulnerable ecological communities. The Canyons Unit includes three underwater canyons — Oceanographer, Gilbert, and Lydonia — and covers approximately 941 square miles. The Seamounts Unit includes four seamounts — Bear, Mytilus, Physalia, and Retriever — and encompasses 3,972 square miles. The canyon and seamount area includes the waters and submerged lands within the coordinates included in the accompanying map. The canyon and seamount area contains objects of historic and scientific interest that are situated upon lands owned or controlled by the Federal Government. These objects are the canyons and seamounts themselves, and the natural resources and ecosystems in and around them.

The canyons start at the edge of the geological continental shelf and drop from 200 meters to thousands of meters deep. The seamounts are farther off shore, at the start of the New England Seamount chain, rising thousands of meters from the ocean floor. These canyons and seamounts are home to at least 54 species of deep-sea corals, which live at depths of at least 3,900 meters below the sea surface. The corals, together with other structure-forming fauna such as sponges and anemones, create a foundation for vibrant deep-sea ecosystems, providing food, spawning habitat, and shelter for an array of fish and invertebrate species. These habitats are extremely sensitive to disturbance from extractive activities.

Because of the steep slopes of the canyons and seamounts, oceanographic currents that encounter them create localized eddies and result in upwelling. Currents lift nutrients, like nitrates and phosphates, critical to the growth of phytoplankton from the deep to sunlit surface waters. These nutrients fuel an eruption of phytoplankton and zooplankton that form the base of the food chain. Aggregations of plankton draw large schools of small fish and then larger animals that prey on these fish, such as whales, sharks, tunas, and seabirds. Together the geology, currents, and productivity create diverse and vibrant ecosystems.

Read the full proclamation at the White House

PETER BAKER: We Must Do More to Save Deep-Sea Corals

Editor’s Note: While Peter Baker’s commentary notes that New England fishery managers “have not yet put forward a plan for protection” of New England’s deep-sea corals, the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) has in fact been working since 2012 to extend protections to the region’s coral habitats. The Council’s effort, the Omnibus Deep-Sea Coral Amendment, is still in development, but contains protections similar to the much-lauded coral protections enacted by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council through their own Deep Sea Corals Amendment.

December 8, 2015 — Less than 100 miles offshore from the heavily populated Eastern Seaboard lie submerged seascapes that look more like visions from another world than the cities and landmarks for which they are named.

Baltimore Canyon, Norfolk Canyon, Hudson Canyon, and others were carved by ancient rivers back when seas were shallow and the coastline was radically different. Now, these undersea canyons gouge into the edge of the continental shelf, plunging thousands of feet seaward to the abyss.

Scientists, exploring these places with robotic submersibles, have upended our assumptions about the deep sea. Far from a barren seafloor, these canyons teem with life—from familiar fish, squid, and crabs to some animals so bizarre that they could easily pass for creatures in a sci-fi flick. Some of the stranger sightings here include gangly crustaceans called sea spiders; the long-nosed chimera, or ghost shark; and the comical “Dumbo” octopus, which propels itself with earlike protrusions.

Most amazing, perhaps, are the living structures known as deep-sea corals that many of these animals depend upon for habitat. Unlike the familiar corals of the warm, shallow waters, these corals are adapted to the cold, dark depths where they slowly grow. Colorful bubblegum corals form bulbous ends in bright pinks, while fan corals grow in veined sheets of maroon and brown. Many deep-sea corals are centuries old, and some are among the Earth’s oldest known living animals.

Read the full commentary at the Pew Charitable Trusts