California Marine Monument Plan Not Backed by Science
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - August 8, 2016
A proposal to protect Califnornia's seamounts and other underwater seabeds, that has been criticized by many groups as not having scientific justification, is being circulated among lawmakers in an effort to convince President Obama to use his executive power to designate eight separate areas off the coast of California as marine monuments.
The largest of the group, located off the north coast, is many times larger than the other proposed areas, which span offshore waters along the entire coast as far south as near the U.S. Mexican border.
Precautionary policies for protecting resources in federal waters already exist under the federal Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, as well as under many other bipartisan laws, such as the Marine Mammal Protection Act and Endangered Species Act.
Each of these statutes require science-based analysis that is conducted in a fully public...
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