November 16, 2016 — The following is excerpted from an Associated Press story that ran in CBS News:
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – New England fishermen who opposed President Barack Obama’s creation of the Atlantic Ocean’s first marine national monument are now hopeful President-elect Donald Trump will abolish it, shrink it or allow some fishing inside it.
While Trump, a Republican, hasn’t specifically addressed the monument, he has said he would undo Obama’s policies that he views as executive overreach.
Obama, a Democrat, has protected more land and water using national monument designations than any other president. The designation can be used to prevent activities such as drilling, mining or commercial fishing to preserve landmarks, natural resources or other areas of historic or scientific value.
Fishing industry advocate Robert Vanasse said that with a Trump White House and GOP-controlled House, “It’s a new day.”
“I would anticipate there would be a desire to address monuments,” said Vanasse, executive director of Saving Seafood. “Whether it’s the radical step of revoking the designation, or modifying it to allow non-destructive, sustainable fishing to take place, which we think is rational, I don’t know.”
The new Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument consists of nearly 5,000 square miles of underwater canyons and mountains off the New England coast. Obama created it in September using executive authority under the Antiquities Act, which closed the area to most commercial fishing on Monday.