Contention Over New Marine Monument Off Georges Bank In New England

President Obama announced the creation of the first national marine monument in the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday.

The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument sits off Cape Cod. The newly protected marine environment that has been called an "underwater Yellowstone".

It is almost 5,000 square miles, the size of Connecticut, a submerged ecosystem of oceanic canyons, vivid corals and teeming marine wildlife.

Obama created the monument by executive order. Oil and gas exploration and drilling are immediately banned in the area, as well as most commercial fishing. That is why many in the New England fishing industry are protesting Obama's declaration.

Tim Shank, associate scientist with tenure at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, which tweets @WHOI. Shank is attending the sixth International Symposium on Deep-Sea Corals at the Long Wharf Marriott in Boston.

Jon Williams, president of the Atlantic Red Crab Company, based out of New Bedford, and president of the New England Red Crab Harvesters' Association.