President Obama will expand a protected marine habitat to six times its current size, making it the largest aquatic area off limits to development in the world, the White House said Wednesday.
Obama will officially sign a proclamation increasing the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument in the south-central Pacific Ocean on Thursday to 490,000 square miles. The White House said it would help revive overfished populations, such as tuna, and preserve coral reefs that support marine life.
“Expanding the Monument will more fully protect the deep coral reefs, seamounts, and marine ecosystems unique to this part of the world, which are also among the most vulnerable areas to the impacts of climate change and ocean acidification,” the White House said.
The move will likely draw criticism from industry groups and conservatives that have taken issue with the administration’s use of executive authority to block development on federal lands and waters.
House Republicans have in the past objected to Obama’s use of the 1906 Antiquities Act, which he will exercise to expand the marine sanctuary. The administration first floated the idea of extending protections in July, though it hadn’t at the time decided on whether to use the Antiquities Act to do so.
