Comment period to protect New Jersey’s “Grand Canyon” closes

Efforts to add a new marine sanctuary off New Jersey’s coast hit a major milestone Monday: the close of the first comment period in the multi-year designation process.

The proposed Hudson Canyon National Marine Sanctuary would protect the Hudson Canyon, located about 100 miles off the New Jersey Shore, is the largest of the more than 70 undersea canyons that line the North Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf, and is home to deep sea corals, bluefin tunas, sperm whales, sea turtles and more. A national marine sanctuary designation could direct additional research and funding to this unique ecosystem, increase public education and awareness and permanently protect the Canyon and its interconnected ecosystems safe from the threat of oil and gas drilling in perpetuity.

Environment New Jersey Research & Policy Center’s sister organization, Environment New Jersey, alongside its national partners, gathered over 14,000 comments in support of the designation, which was put forward by the Wildlife Conservation Society.

Learn more about Hudson Canyon from New York Aquarium’s Merry Cahmi on our June webinar “Meet our Ocean: Underwater Mountains & Valleys:”