“We’re grateful for the administration’s progress towards protecting our ocean and its commitment to center environmental justice in ocean science and technology activities and investments. The ocean is a part of Latino lives. It is a source of food, jobs, medicine, spirituality, family memories, and the very air we breathe, especially for coastal communities, which are experiencing significant growth in Latino populations and are among the most vulnerable to coastal threats increasing in severity and frequency.

“A report issued by the scientists at NOAA and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego, found that carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are now more than 50 percent higher than pre-industrial levels. Now more than ever, Latino coastal communities are more susceptible to the results of pollution and climate change: sea level rise, dead zones, flooding, and coastal disasters.

“As part of their ocean climate action plan, the administration and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced they have published a Notice of Intent initiating the multi-year public process to designate the Hudson Canyon National Marine Sanctuary. Located off the coast of New York and New Jersey, both states with a large Latino population, conserving this area as a national marine sanctuary would provide a secure home for its wildlife, and a future for local fisheries that depend on a healthy ocean ecosystem.

“Latinos and other communities, traditionally underserved, should have equitable access to a clean and safe ocean and coast for recreation, livelihoods, and culture. The ocean should be pollution- and plastic-free, as well as free of the threats of offshore drilling and mining that harm local communities and the global climate alike.”

 In addition to beginning the designation of the Hudson Canyon National Marine Sanctuary, the Department of Interior also announced it would eventually phase out the sale of single-use plastic products in national parks, wildlife refuges and other public lands. Also, the announcement declared the Federal government and Tribes in the Bering Sea are beginning nation-to-nation coordination on the stewardship of the Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area.

In 2020, Hispanic Access published “Nuestro Oceano y La Costa: Latino Connections to the Ocean and Coast” to provide background on issues relevant to the Latino connection to the ocean and coast, and pave the way for Latinos’ lived experiences to help inform and tailor the most effective approaches and practices for the cultivation of resilient environments and communities. In 2021, we also helped produce a short documentary film, “El Canto Del Mar” following four Latinos across the United States through a multi-generational perspective as they explore their relationship to the ocean and their culture, discovering their role in protecting and preserving both.