US President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order allowing in a gigantic marine reserve home to one of the world's most vulnerable ecosystems – including endangered seat turtles and whales – in the middle of the Pacific.
Trump issued the order opening up the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument, which lies some 750 miles west of Hawaii. President George W. Bush established the monument in 2009 and President Barack Obama expanded it in 2014 to its current area of nearly 500,000 square miles.
Following the signing of the executive order, Trump shared a light moment while he was garlanded by a delegation of American Samoa.
As the delegation explained that the garland was a symbol of royalty in their culture, Trump asked, “Does that mean I’m royalty?”
The moment was caught on camera, and shared by Margo Martin, the Special Assistant to the President and Communications Advisor.
The Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument (PRIMNM) was created in 2009 by then-president George W. Bush, and extended by his successor Barack Obama in 2014.
Today it covers almost 1.3 million square kilometers (500,000 square miles) or almost twice the area of Texas, anchored around seven islands and atolls.
Commercial fishing and resource extraction activities such as undersea mining have been banned until now, although traditional and sport fishing were still allowed.
The Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument (PRIMNM) was created in 2009 by then-president George W. Bush, and extended by his successor Barack Obama in 2014.
Today it covers almost 1.3 million square kilometers (500,000 square miles) or almost twice the area of Texas, anchored around seven islands and atolls.
Commercial fishing and resource extraction activities such as undersea mining have been banned until now, although traditional and sport fishing were still allowed.
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