SHEET from the White House
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 6, 2009
Fact Sheet: Marine
Today, President Bush designated three areas of the Pacific
Ocean as marine national monuments. By designating these
areas as national monuments, the Administration ensures that the marine
environment will receive the highest level of environmental recognition
and conservation. Destruction or extraction of protected
resources within the boundaries of these monuments will be prohibited,
as will commercial fishing in the coral reef ecosystem areas of the
monuments. Scientific and recreational activities may be
permitted consistent with the care and management of the protected
resources of these monuments. For marine life and seabirds, these
places will be sanctuaries to grow and thrive.
- Combined, these designations represent the largest fully
protected area in the world. Under the President's plan,
195,274* square miles will be conserved.
- The Marianas Trench Marine National Monument consists of
- The first component of this monument is the waters
and submerged lands encompassing the coral reef ecosystem of the three
northernmost islands. These islands represent some of
the westernmost territory in the United States – 5,600 miles from
California. They are home to more than 300 species of stony
- The second component is the Marianas Trench. The
trench, the site of the deepest place on Earth, is approximately 940
nautical miles long and 38 nautical miles wide within the Exclusive
Economic Zone of the United States.
- The third component is a series of active undersea
volcanoes and thermal vents. Twenty-one active
hydrothermal submarine volcanoes and vents support life in the harshest
conditions imaginable. Many scientists believe extreme conditions
like these could have been the first incubators of life on Earth.
Further research will allow us to learn more about life on the bottom
of the sea.
- The Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monuments
protects the pristine coral reef ecosystems around Kingman Reef,
Palmyra Atoll, Howland, Baker, and Jarvis Islands, Johnston Atoll, and
Wake Island – the site of a pivotal battle in World War II and an
important military base today. These areas support a
large number of nesting seabirds and migratory shorebirds, and their
pristine coral reefs contain hundreds of thriving fish species and
large apex predators and are also home to endangered turtles.
- The Rose Atoll Marine National Monument protects the
pristine coral reef ecosystem around a remote part of American Samoa.
One of its most striking features is the pink hue of fringing reef
caused by the dominance of reef building coralline algae. Rare
species of nesting petrel, shearwaters, and terns also thrive on this
island, and the waters surrounding it are a home for many species
depleted elsewhere in the world, including giant clams and reef sharks.
The President also announced America's first new UNESCO
World Heritage Site nominations in 15 years. The two
sites are the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument (in the
Northwestern Hawaiian Islands) and Mount Vernon. Only two sites can be
nominated each year.
In designating the marine areas, the President made explicit
that nothing in the proclamations impairs or otherwise affects the
activities of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).
Among other things, the DoD is ensured full freedom of navigation
in accordance with the law of the sea, and the U.S. Navy can continue
effective training to maintain its antisubmarine warfare and other
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