"Pompom" anemones are one of many rare species found in the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument. Photo: NOAA
More than 130 miles off the coast of New England lies one of the Atlantic Ocean’s most remarkable ecosystems. The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument is home to towering underwater mountains, deep-sea canyons, ancient coral communities, and an incredible diversity of marine life.
As New England’s only marine national monument, this protected area serves as an important refuge for wildlife and a living laboratory for scientists seeking to better understand our ocean. Far beyond the view of most New Englanders, its waters protect a hidden world that is still revealing new discoveries.
To celebrate the wildlife that makes this place so special, we asked members of CLF’s Ocean team to share some of their favorite monument residents. Their answers offer a closer look at the animals and habitats that make this a place like no other.
- Atlantic Puffin
For Communications Strategist Sarah White, the Atlantic puffin was an easy choice. With their colorful beaks and unmistakable personalities, puffins are hard not to love.
But puffins have more going for them than good looks. While many may associate puffins with nesting colonies along rocky coastlines, they actually spend most of their lives at sea. During the winter months, the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts serves as an important feeding area, providing access to the fish they rely on to survive.
One of the puffin’s most impressive traits is its ability to “fly” underwater. Using their wings like flippers, they can dive up to 100 feet below the surface while chasing fish, making them just as skilled beneath the waves as they are above them. They can even carry several fish in their beaks at once, thanks to a specialized jaw structure that helps them hold onto their catch while continuing to hunt.
- Sperm Whale
While some monument residents make a name for themselves in the water, the sperm whale has managed to build a reputation in literature, too. A recent reread of Moby-Dick inspired Vice President of Ocean Conservation Priscilla Brooks to choose the species as her favorite monument resident.
Part of what fascinates Priscilla about sperm whales is their history. Herman Melville’s classic novel helped immortalize the species while documenting the 19th-century whaling industry that devastated marine mammal populations. Today, sperm whales serve as a reminder of both the damage humans can inflict on the ocean and the recovery that protections can make possible.
The monument now serves as a refuge for these magnificent animals, which are frequently spotted during aerial surveys of the area. Its deep underwater canyons create productive feeding grounds where sperm whales can hunt for squid and other prey.
As the largest toothed predator on Earth, sperm whales are also among the ocean’s most impressive divers. They can plunge thousands of feet below the surface and remain underwater for more than an hour before returning to breathe.
- Bubblegum Coral
While puffins and sperm whales are some of the monument’s more well-known residents, other important inhabitants spend their lives far from view. Director of Ocean Policy Elizabeth Etrie chose bubblegum coral for its ability to thrive in the cold, dark depths of the ocean while helping build the foundation of deep-sea ecosystems.
Unlike the typical colorful reefs many people picture, bubblegum coral grows hundreds and sometimes thousands of feet below the surface. Its feathery polyps extend into ocean currents to capture plankton and other drifting food. These coral communities also create habitat for a remarkable variety of fish and invertebrates, providing shelter and nursery areas for countless marine species.
Their rounded branch tips and striking pink color earned them the name “bubblegum coral,” but their longevity is just as remarkable. Some colonies found within the monument today may have been growing for more than 100 years, long before modern conservation efforts existed. They are a reminder that some of the ocean’s most resilient species are also among its most beautiful.
- Siphonophore
Speaking of lesser-known monument residents, Senior Scientist Gareth Lawson chose the siphonophore, a gelatinous organism that showcases just how strange and diverse ocean life can be.
At first glance, a siphonophore might look like a single animal. In reality, it is a colony of specialized individuals working together as one living system. Unlike humans or fish, which rely on specialized organs, siphonophores divide those responsibilities among different members of the colony. Some members of the colony are responsible for feeding, others for movement, and others for reproduction.
Unlike bees, whose colony members generally look similar, siphonophores are made up of specialized parts that can differ dramatically in both appearance and function.
For Gareth, siphonophores are a reminder that biodiversity comes in all shapes, sizes, and forms. They challenge our assumptions about what an organism can look like and highlight the incredible variety of life found beneath the ocean’s surface.
Why Protecting the Monument Matters
These four species offer just a glimpse into the incredible diversity of life found within the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument. Its underwater canyons, seamounts, and deep-sea habitats provide refuge for a remarkable variety of marine life.
But those protections remain under threat. Earlier this year, the Trump administration moved to reopen the monument to commercial fishing. In response, CLF joined Natural Resources Defense Council, the Center for Biological Diversity, and whale-watch naturalist Zack Klyver in challenging the decision and continuing the fight to defend this extraordinary corner of the Atlantic.
The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument is worth protecting because of the wildlife that depends on it, whether they soar above the water, swim through its depths, or grow on the seafloor.
