President Donald Trump issued a proclamation Friday opening a formerly protected area of the Atlantic ocean off the east coast to commercial fishing.
Advancing what the White House called Trump’s “America First Fishing Policy,” the proclamation restores commercial fishing access to all 4,913 square miles of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument located off the coast of New England.
“President Trump is committed to removing unnecessary restrictions on American fishermen in order to strengthen the U.S. economy, support coastal communities, and restore fairness to an industry disadvantaged by overregulation and unfair foreign competition,” the White House said in a statement.
The president also made the announcement on Truth Social late Friday, stating that the move was “another BIG WIN for Maine, and all of New England.”
The preserve’s access has been open and closed during three presidential terms.
President Barack Obama established the monument area in 2016 and prohibited commercial fishing within its boundaries. Trump rolled the restriction back in his first term. President Joe Biden later restored it.
According to the White House’s website:
Prohibiting commercial fishing is not necessary for the proper care and management of the Monument, as many fish species are highly migratory, not unique to the area, and are already protected through existing laws, such as the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.
By revoking the Obama-Biden restrictions, President Trump’s proclamation supports New England’s fishing communities, in turn fostering economic growth and job creation in coastal regions.
Trump has long been critical of the Obama-created monument, which the former president described at the time as a way to protect vulnerable undersea corals and ecosystems.
“In my first term, I reversed the prohibitions placed on commercial fishing, but Joe Biden, or whoever was using the AUTOPEN, foolishly reinstated them,” Trump also wrote. “Since Day One, I have taken historic action to end these disastrous policies.”
“We deserve to be rewarded, not penalized,” John Williams, president and owner of the New Bedford, Massachusetts-based Atlantic Red Crab Company, told the Associated Press (AP). “We’re demonstrating that we can fish sustainably and continue to harvest on a sustainable level in perpetuity.”
Environmental groups warned that reopening the area could pose a threat to marine ecosystems.
“The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument was created to provide strong protections for the wide range of marine life that live in these unique habitats,” Gib Brogan, fisheries campaign director at environmental group Oceana, told AP.
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of the Los Angeles crime novel Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more
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