Protection Sought For NW Atlantic

November 20, 2006

Release from: Associated Press

BOSTON - Portions of the northwest Atlantic Ocean stretching from Cape Cod to the northeastern tip of Nova Scotia should be declared off-limits to fishing and other human activities to protect threatened marine species, two environmental groups said Monday.

The Boston-based Conservation Law Foundation and the World Wildlife Fund-Canada recommended creating a patchwork of 30 marine reserves extending 10 to 200 miles from shore and covering about one-fifth of an area that includes the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank and the Scotian Shelf.

The proposed zones include productive fishing areas, however, and creating the reserves in U.S. waters would require federal authorization.

A fishing industry official worried that closing off large areas permanently could make it harder for fishermen to earn a living.

"They have to be very careful not to close an area that is producing a lot of net benefit to the nation," Vito Giacalone, of the Northeast Seafood Coalition, told The Boston Globe.

The groups argue in the report that stewardship of the offshore region has been inadequate and cite habitat loss and pollution as depleting populations of fish, whales, turtles and seabirds. They said they used computer technology to identify offshore areas where a large number of species could be protected while imposing the fewest restrictions.