Trump Opens Only Us Marine National Monument In Atlantic To Fishing — Again

U.S. President Donald Trump issued a proclamation on Feb. 6 to open a marine protected area off the northeastern U.S. to commercial fishing, in his latest move to deregulate the country’s waters and fisheries. The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, a 12,725-square-kilometer (4,913-square-mile) area roughly 209 km (130 mi) southeast of Cape Cod, is home to deep-sea corals and sponges, whale sharks and a variety of marine mammals. Trump wrote that reopening the area will not endanger marine species and will help the fishing business, and industry groups praised the proclamation. But conservationists decried it, saying the monument is a critical sanctuary for marine life and the food webs that serve the interest of the U.S. public. “This Monument supports amazing species from the seafloor to the sea surface, and we see evidence of that during every aerial survey,” Jessica Redfern, an associate vice president at the New England Aquarium, a Boston-based nonprofit, said in a statement. “Removing protections for Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument puts these species at risk.” U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a member of the opposition Democratic Party from the northeastern state of Connecticut, also spoke out against the proclamation, calling it reckless and “hugely misguided.” “This natural treasure should be preserved for future generations, not endangered by industrial fishing,” Blumenthal said in a statement. “It’s home to immensely valuable wildlife— a marine ecosystem that deserves to be defended.” The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, which is divided into two sections,…This article was originally published on Mongabay