The Serengeti of the Sea needs our help

An underwater world, rich in diverse wildlife, exists some 150 miles northeast of the coast of Connecticut. We know too little about it, and it is in peril. Congress has an opportunity to help — but it needs to act soon.

Late in March, two cetacean visitors in that world, a pair of endangered blue whales, were filmed by scientists from the New England Aquarium. Blue whales are the largest animals on earth, these two enjoying the pristine waters of the Marine Monument Northeast Canyons and Seamounts, a place where they could be safe. This marine monument has been called the Serengeti of the Sea because of the extraordinary abundance and diversity of its life, from the tiniest plants and animals on earth to the very largest.

Connecticut played a leading role in the creation of this Monument. Sen. Richard Blumenthal and the entire Connecticut congressional delegation, supported by a coalition of state, regional and national groups, were the first official proponents of the creation of this protected ocean preserve. In 2016, they prevailed, and President Obama designated the monument under the 1906 Antiquities Act. It is the only marine monument in the Atlantic.

The monument designation was an enormous conservation success. We can be proud. And we should guard it.

The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts encompass just under 5,000 square miles (about the size of Connecticut). The deepest canyons are deeper than the Grand Canyon The four seamounts, which arose some 100 million years ago, are extinct undersea volcanoes with a steep, complex topology that provides a variety of incubators and habitats for a striking array of wildlife.

Many of the species and varieties in this unspoiled natural world are unique in shape, color and function. They include corals, small ocean-bottom fish, plants of many kinds (from microscopic to small-tree size), squid, octopus, crustaceans, jellyfish, turtles, whales, dolphins, tuna, swordfish, sharks, herring, and scores of kinds of sea birds, including graceful shearwaters and comical, beloved puffins. In sum, the monument is a spawning ground, nursery and home for many of the species we love — and are losing.

In recent years we have been able to learn about this this ocean sanctuary and its wildlife through the explorations and photography of marine scientists.

One of the most important expeditions was led late in 2019 by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, using a submersible called Nadir, designed to get to the bottom, of course. Reports and pictures of the findings alerted some Connecticut residents that there was a wonderful ocean place that we had helped to protect. Ironically, just as Connecticut people were waking up to the importance and beauty of the monument, its future was put at risk. Like so many iconic public lands and waters under this administration, the monument is seen as potentially profitable for some at the expense of the public. The most immediate concern has been an indication that the federal government may open the preserve for commercial fishing.

Can other uses be far behind?

A coalition of people in Connecticut and the New England region are working together to maintain protection for the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts. We say, at least give us a chance to discover all that’s there before exploiting it. A major effort right now is to ask our congressional delegation to support modest funding ($500,000) to launch a scientific evaluation of the ecology of the monument, which at this time can be described as pre-climate change, undisturbed, still exhibiting the richness of a natural deep-sea world. Our young students learn about blue whales and puffins in school. Will they ever see them in the wild?

People who would like to help protect the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts can thank their representatives in Congress for promoting its existence. And, of course, ask for ongoing help in funding its conservation in the upcoming fiscal year. Don’t be shy — how often these days can one chase down a politician to say: Thank you for saving something beautiful. (Don’t let it slip away.)

And finally, those who want to help can ask our congressional delegation to speak up this month for that $500,000 appropriation in fiscal year 2021 for an evaluation of the ecological features of the natural environment in the monument. This study will open the door to effective protection going forward.