WASHINGTON, June 18 (UPI) -- A U.S. move to protect the oceans fell a bit short for Greenpeace International, though the Natural Resources Defense Council said it was a major step forward.
The White House announced plans to create a Pacific Marine Sanctuary in waters near Hawaii and American Samoa.
Daniel Mittler, political director of Greenpeace International, said he was heartened by that deal, along with corresponding international action, but it means less than 2 percent of the world's oceans are protected.
"Just because good words were spoken in Washington does not yet mean that there will be real change out on the ocean," he said in a statement Tuesday.
Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, said the action was a step in the right direction.
"This represents a commitment to the kind of bold action needed to restore the failing health of our ocean, on which we all depend, and continues the bipartisan tradition of ocean protection," she said in a statement.
A presidential memorandum on the marine sanctuary describes protecting the oceans as "in the national interest."
