September 6, 2017 (Saving Seafood) โ In a letter last month to NOAA Acting Administrator Benjamin Friedman, Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) called for โmeaningful changesโ to marine sanctuary and marine national monument designations, particularly in the form of greater stakeholder engagement.
In his letter, Sen. Sullivan, who serves as Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard, called the concept of marine sanctuaries and monuments โwell-intentionedโ but wrote that they had caused challenges for coastal communities across the country, including Alaskaโs โrobust commercial fishing industry.โ
โFisheries restrictions imposed outside of the process utilized by Regional Fishery Management Councils on these areas are problematic for the communities who rely on access to commercial fisheries,โ Sen. Sullivan wrote.
Sen. Sullivan expressed concern that the National Marine Sanctuary Act, while requiring stakeholder engagement, does not require that this engagement be taken into consideration when designating a sanctuary. โThis can lead to communities feeling betrayed by the agency when the established sanctuaries are unrecognizable to the localities who spent years working with NOAA to form a mutually beneficial designation and management structure,โ he wrote.
Sen. Sullivan also called into question the process by which the president can unilaterally establish national monuments with no stakeholder consultation under the Antiquities Act. He criticized recent presidents for using the national monument process as a โpolitical toolโ to โlimit access to economically viable resources.โ
โThis action is often taken at the request of non-affected parties such as environmental groups,โ he wrote. โThis is problematic when monuments are established without the use of best-available science, absent stakeholder engagement, and inattentive to the economic consequences for local communities.โ
On August 24, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke completed a review of national monuments ordered by President Donald Trump. While Secretary Zinkeโs full recommendations have not been made public, the AP reported that they include changes to a โhandfulโ of monuments.