November 21, 2016 — The Gloucester Fishing Commission isn’t ready yet to employ a full-court press on President-elect Donald Trump to reverse the Obama administration’s creation of a Marine National Monument in the canyons and seamounts off the coast of southern New England.
It’s not that the commission members think it’s a bad idea. They just think it’s too early to start beating that particular drum.
“There’s already a lot of talk and the group letters will be coming along like before,” said commission Chairman Mark Ring. “But I don’t think we should be doing a letter now. It’s too premature.”
“Let’s wait until he gets into office,” said Angela Sanfilippo.
Other fishing stakeholders around the country have said they hope to appeal to Trump’s oft-stated intent to reverse any of the Obama administration’s policies and decisions he deems to be executive overreach.
“It’s a new day,” said fishing industry advocate Robert Vanasse of the Saving Seafood website. “I would anticipate there would be a desire to address monuments. 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.”