President Donald Trump says restoring commercial fishing is in the public interest and cites existing federal laws as sufficient protections of the monument.
President Donald Trump revoked a prohibition on commercial fishing in the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument on Friday, restoring rules that allow regulated harvesting in the protected Atlantic waters while citing existing federal laws as adequate safeguards for the area’s ecosystems.
The move reverses a 2021 decision by President Joe Biden that reinstated fishing restrictions in the roughly 4,913-square-mile monument, located where the continental shelf meets the Atlantic Ocean off New England. The monument was created by President Barack Obama’s Proclamation 9496 in 2016.
In Trump’s proclamation, he said that well-regulated commercial fishing is in the public interest.
The president’s proclamation argues that laws such as the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act ensure sustainable fishing practices and protect marine species, making a total ban unnecessary.
“Following further consideration of the nature of the objects identified in Proclamation 9496 and the protection of those objects already provided by Federal law, I find that appropriately managed commercial fishing would not put the objects of historic and scientific interest that the monument protects at risk,” the new proclamation states.
Trump’s action comes after his 2020 modification of the monument, which removed fishing restrictions imposed by Obama’s 2016 proclamation under the Antiquities Act. Obama designated the area as a monument to preserve deep-sea canyons, seamounts, and associated marine life, including highly migratory fish species and rare corals.
The president’s proclamation argues that laws such as the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act ensure sustainable fishing practices and protect marine species, making a total ban unnecessary.
“Following further consideration of the nature of the objects identified in Proclamation 9496 and the protection of those objects already provided by Federal law, I find that appropriately managed commercial fishing would not put the objects of historic and scientific interest that the monument protects at risk,” the new proclamation states.
Trump’s action comes after his 2020 modification of the monument, which removed fishing restrictions imposed by Obama’s 2016 proclamation under the Antiquities Act. Obama designated the area as a monument to preserve deep-sea canyons, seamounts, and associated marine life, including highly migratory fish species and rare corals.
The monument’s boundaries remain the same, but management will align with Trump’s 2020 proclamation, allowing commercial activities under existing regulations.
