War on the Sea?

Dear Undercurrent,

The Roman Emperor Caligula's erratic behavior is welldocumented. He once declared war on the sea, apparently to declare a symbolic victory on the vast ocean. Roman historian Suetonius wrote of the incident in 40 CE. "And while no one could imagine what he intended to do, he suddenly commanded them to gather up seashells and fill their helmets and the folds of their tunics with them, calling them 'the spoils of the sea.'"

With an Executive Order on April 17, President Trump announced that he was allowing commercial fishing in one of the world's largest ocean reserves, which is home to coral atolls populated by endangered sea turtles and whales. He is opening the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument, 750 miles west of Hawaii. President George W. Bush established the monument in 2009.

He has asked the Interior Department to issue recommendations about those that should be opened to commercial fishing. "The United States should be the world's dominant seafood leader."

President Donald Trump has issued an executive order to fast-track the permit process for deep-sea mining.

-- Lionel Smith
San Rafael, CA

Because Undercurrent is fair and balanced, we ask our readers to please provide us with any information you have about President Trump's effort to save our oceans and coral reefs and their inhabitants. The planet needs his support.