New York, Jan. 6, 2025 – The following statement was released by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) upon President Biden’s announcement today protecting waters off New York and New Jersey, including the Hudson Canyon, located about 100 miles off the coast of New York, and the remaining portion of the Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area in Alaska.

In all, the announcement calls for protecting 625 million acres of US waters from oil and natural gas leasing, including the entire U.S. East Coast; the eastern Gulf of Mexico; the Pacific off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California; and the remaining portion of the Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area in Alaska.

Said John F. Calvelli, executive vice president of public affairs at WCS:

“We welcome President Biden’s announcement to protect US oceans that will benefit coastal communities, Tribes and businesses.

“Today’s announcement is great news for ocean wildlife, our marine resources and the people who depend on them. It is an important step by the United States to help achieve the global goal of protecting at least 30 percent of land and waters by 2030 to halt nature loss and climate change.

“President Biden’s announcement includes protecting two areas where WCS has worked for decades—the Atlantic off the US Coast and the Arctic.

“Oil and gas exploration and extraction pose numerous threats to the biodiversity in these offshore waters and to the fisheries that depend on the oceans — whether noise pollution that harms marine mammals, or the risks to wildlife and fisheries associated with spills or blowouts from deep sea oil wells.

“Prohibiting oil and natural gas exploration and production in these offshore waters is essential to ensuring the health of these waters for people and wildlife. Marine mammals, in particular, face multiple risks from offshore oil and gas exploration and extraction, including seismic surveys and other potential impacts. 

“WCS, which works in oceans across the world, has long developed the science needed to protect marine life in the Arctic and in the waters off New York and New Jersey.

“Our work in the Atlantic led by our Oceans Giants Program and the WCS New York Seascape Program based out of our New York Aquarium, also includes protecting the Hudson Canyon. The Hudson Canyon, a fragile and highly productive marine ecosystem, provides habitat for 100’s of species — the great whales, other deep-diving cetaceans, endangered sea turtles, majestic sharks, brightly-colored deep sea corals, sea birds, invertebrates and numerous species of fishes, many of which sustain economically important local commercial and recreational fisheries. In 2015, WCS nominated Hudson Canyon as a National Marine Sanctuary in part to provide durable protection from the threat of oil and gas while also promoting sustainable uses in the canyon, including sustainable commercial and recreational fisheries that would continue to be managed by existing authorities. While President Biden’s action helps achieve some of the desired outcomes of a National Marine Sanctuary for Hudson Canyon, the National Marine Sanctuary designation remains needed to expand federal investment in long-term science monitoring of the canyon and STEM education and workforce development.”

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