Cashes Ledge is a biological hotspot off the coast of New England. It contains Ammen Rock, a peak so tall that it disrupts the Gulf of Maine current, creating massive upwellings of cold nutrient-rich water that fuel an explosion of life from plankton and squid to mackerel, tuna, billfish, sharks, seabirds and a high diversity of marine mammals. The area is home to the largest coldwater kelp forest on the Atlantic seaboard and provides a nursery for important New England fish species like cod, pollock, Atlantic halibut, and white hake. Cashes Ledge faces threats from industrial development and warming water temperatures from climate change; its waters are warming faster than 99% of the oceans on Earth. However, former President Barack Obama designated the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, the first in the U.S. Atlantic in September 2016, a major step towards official protection of the area.
