President Obama at the Our Ocean Conference

President Barack Obama speaks at the 2016 Our Ocean Conference at the State Department in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The notion that the ocean I grew up with is not something that I can pass on to my kids and my grandkids is unacceptable. It’s unimaginable. And so the investment that all of us together make here today is vital for our economy, it is vital for our foreign policy, it’s vital for our national security, but it’s also vital for our spirit. It’s vital to who we are.

Read President Obama’s full remarks at whitehouse.gov!