A group of angry New England fishermen is suing the Trump administration over his predecessor’s creation of a massive 5,000-square-mile East Coast monument.
Created by President Obama last September, the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National monument was called one of the largest abuses of government overreach using the Antiquities Act. Now designated, the area is off-limits to energy exploration, development, and fishing.
Environmentalists were overjoyed since they wanted this monument for years. It was the second marine monument after Obama expanded the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in early Sept last year.
The trawling ban started 90 days after Obama signed the executive action, forcing fisherman to travel even further, which has increased fuel usage and carbon dioxide emissions.
Economic disaster
Most experts don’t think the Trump administration will fight this Lawsuit in court giving the fishermen a de facto win, yet the administration has so far refused to comment on its strategy.
The coalition of fishermen said the monument would kill commercial trawling and ravage fishing towns along the New England coast. Lobster and red crab fishermen have seven years to move their fisheries, while commercial fishers had until mid-December to leave the monument area.
