US PRESIDENT Barack Obama has vowed to use his executive powers to protect US waters in the central Pacific Ocean and draw up a national strategy to combat illegal fishing.
Leaders from more than 80 countries have gathered at the State Department for a two-day conference uniting scientists and industry experts aiming to draw up an action plan to clean-up the world’s oceans.
“We all know how fragile our planet can be,” Mr Obama said.
“Rising levels of carbon dioxide are causing our oceans to acidify. Pollution endangers marine life. Overfishing threatens whole species as well as the people who depend on them for food and their livelihoods,” he said.
In a video address, Mr Obama said he had directed the US government to “build a national strategy to combat black-market fishing”.
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