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Statement of Mike Gravitz, Environment America’s Oceans Advocate, on House Passage of HR 1187 to Expand California Marine Sanctuaries
Environment America and our partner, Environment California, applaud the efforts of many, led by California Representative Lynn Woolsey, Natural Resources Committee Chair Nick Rahall, and Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans Subcommittee Chair Madeline Bordallo, for securing passage of H.R. 1187 which will double the size of the Gulf of Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries off the coast of California. This is a clear victory for far-sighted management of our oceans. Exceptional places like the northern California marine ecosystem and its wildlife deserve exceptional protection by being given sanctuary status. This legislation will protect the whales, turtles, fish, seabirds, and importantly, the fishermen who make this place home for generations to come. Sponsored by Representatives Lynn Woolsey, Wayne Gilchrest, and Lois Capps, the bill will double the size of the existing Gulf of Farallones and Cordell Banks sanctuaries to protect the California Current Coastal Upwelling area centered off Point Arena which works as a conveyor belt of food and nutrients to areas as far as 250 miles down the coast. This coastal upwelling pumps cold, nutrient rich water from the deep ocean up to the surface where it acts as fertilizer for tens of thousands of square miles of ocean. It is the only one on the U.S. coast and one of only four on Earth.
Marine sanctuaries like the one established in this bill heal our damaged oceans, rebuild overfished fish stocks, and create refuges from the effects of global warming and ocean acidification. The House has now taken a critical step in expanding sanctuary protection for this unique marine environment that is home to so many threatened species of marine mammals, fish and seabirds. We urge the Senate to quickly pass a companion bill (S. 2635) so that these places can be protected permanently.
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