May 31, 2017 — New England fishery regulators might seek to reclaim some of the authority they lost when President Barack Obama virtually walled off thousands of square miles of ocean south of Cape Cod to commercial fisheries.
The designation of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument last year was cheered by environmentalists, who said it would provide a “safe haven” for the birds, mammals and fish that live there. It is now part of a review President Donald Trump ordered Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to conduct of certain national monuments and marine monuments.
On Tuesday, the New England Fisheries Management Council’s Habitat Committee recommended that the regulatory council provide feedback to the Trump administration about the designation of the 4,913 square-mile area by the continental shelf.
“I would strongly suggest we take the opportunity to comment,” said Eric Reid, a council member and the general manager of Seafreeze Shoreside, a seafood processing facility in Galilee, Rhode Island.
While the committee members did not delve into what the letter should say during Tuesday’s meeting, the council chairman, former Rep. John Quinn, the director of public interest at the UMass School of Law in Dartmouth, made clear he believes the council should have jurisdiction.
“The councils are the ones that are involved in opening and closing areas to fishing so we really want a seat at the table” of the review, Quinn told the News Service. He said, “That’s why these entities exist.”