By Marine Conservation Institute | February 25, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Marine Conservation Institute Condemns Rollback of Protections for Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument
GLEN ELLEN, CA – Marine Conservation Institute strongly opposes the recent executive proclamation to reopen the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument to commercial fishing. The decision weakens protections for one of the Atlantic’s most ecologically significant deep-sea ecosystems, and introduces further instability to an area that has already experienced four status changes in less than a decade.
Established under the Antiquities Act in 2016, the monument safeguards 4,913 square miles of submarine canyons and seamounts located approximately 130 miles southeast of Cape Cod. These underwater features support ancient cold-water corals, migratory whales, and complex deep-sea food webs that depend on intact habitat and minimal industrial disturbance.
Strong and Durable Protection Is the Standard
Scientific assessments reported by the Marine Protection Atlas (MPAtlas) - including The MPA Guide and its associated peer-reviewed research - highlight that conservation outcomes depend on levels of protection not on how much ocean is designated. MPAtlas applies these frameworks to track global MPA progress and assess changes in protection status.
Reinstating commercial fishing reduces the monument’s classification under The MPA Guide framework from “Highly Protected” to a lower level of protection, substantially diminishing its ecological benefits. Repeated policy reversals risk transforming the monument into a “paper park” - protected in name but lacking the durability and management measures required to deliver long-term biodiversity and climate resilience benefits.
Commercial fishing gear, including bottom-trawling and fixed pelagic gear, present documented risks to deep-sea corals that can take centuries to recover and to marine mammals that migrate through the area. More than a dozen whale and dolphin species use the monument’s waters.
“The science and data are clear: fully and highly protected areas provide the strongest ecological returns,” said Dr. Lance Morgan, President of Marine Conservation Institute. “When protections are repeatedly weakened, the conservation value of an area declines. Strongly protected designations provide ecological and scientific integrity, and long-term certainty for communities and regulatory stability for industries. Conservation that changes with each political cycle fails to deliver on its stated goals.”
National and Global Implications
Strong, durable protections are foundational to achieving the global 30x30 target - conserving at least 30 percent of the ocean by 2030. Weakening highly protected areas undermines efforts to rebuild populations as well as international leadership at a time when ocean resilience is increasingly urgent.
Marine Conservation Institute joins fellow scientists and conservation leaders in calling for consistent, science-based protections for the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument. The Institute remains committed to advancing durable, effective ocean protection grounded in measurable standards and transparent data.
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About Marine Conservation Institute
Marine Conservation Institute, founded in 1996, is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and restoring marine ecosystems and works in the U.S. and globally to seek strong protection for at least 30% of the ocean by 2030. Marine Conservation Institute publishes the Marine Protection Atlas, which provides comprehensive information on the world's marine protected areas. Learn more at https://marine-conservation.org/.
Contacts
Maria Lopez Bringuier, Public Relations Coordinator
Marine Conservation Institute, USA
Maria.Lopez@marine-conservation.org
+1 513 295 8803 mobile
Dr. Lance Morgan, President
Marine Conservation Institute, USA
Lance.Morgan@marine-conservation.org
+1 707 217 8242 mobile