U.S. President Barack Obama says he created the first monument, or protected area, in the Atlantic Ocean because the planet cannot be protected without trying to safeguard the oceans. Obama announced the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument while he attended at a State Department conference on Thursday. The monument consists of 12,950 square kilometres of underwater canyons and mountains off the New England coast. It's a big blow to us," said Jon Williams, president of the Atlantic Red Crab Company in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The White House said the monument is home to protected species such as the sperm, fin and sei whales, and Kemp's ridley turtles.

Source: CBC News September 15, 2016 13:28 UTC