Tag Archives: marine national monument
Wishy-washy – Baker team circumspect on marine monument controversy
In the course of the past year, a Connecticut-sized marine area off the coast of Cape Cod has been officially designated a national monument by one president and targeted for potential changes by the next. It became subject to a new ban on commercial fishing, and now might have that ban removed. The ping-ponging presidential decisions have left the future of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument somewhat murky, but the same concerns Governor Charlie Baker first raised almost two years ago remain on the minds of his top environmental official. click here to read the story 08:21
Marine National Monument Pushback: The Fight Over Papahanaumokuakea Just Escalated
Government officials from the United States and three of its territories are working to undermine President Barack Obama’s marine conservation legacy less than four months after he left office. Obama used his executive authority in August to dramatically expand protected areas in the Pacific, the largest being the four-fold expansion last summer of Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, which now covers 583,000 square miles in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. But with the Trump administration taking over in January, commercial fishermen and others who vehemently opposed the expansion of that monument and other marine preserves have renewed the fight.,, Leaders of the eight councils followed up with a March 1 letter to Trump explaining why they thought it was bad policy to keep American fishing vessels out of the monuments, saying it has “disrupted” the councils’ ability to manage the fisheries and eliminated the vessels’ ability to act as “watchdogs” over U.S. fishing grounds threatened by foreign fleets. click to continue reading the story here 08:17
Obama will leave his legacy at the expense of fishermen – Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah)
When President Obama quadrupled the size of a marine national monument off the coast of Hawaii last month, he made history. At 583,000-square-miles, the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument is twice the size of Texas and the largest to date. But there’s a problem. This sweeping expansion was confirmed with virtually no public input, especially not from those who will feel the economic punch the most: fishermen. According to the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, who openly opposed the expansion plans, the designation increased the “no fishing zone” around the Hawaiian Islands from approximately 24 percent to 77 percent. While radical environmentalists are clapping their hands, an entire local industry risks decimation. Two more marine monuments are expected soon, one on the West Coast, off the coast of Monterey, and another on the East Coast, off the coast of Cape Cod. Much like the expansion in Hawaii, these considerations have been met with staunch opposition from locals, the industry, and elected officials. Read the rest here 14:34
Undersea monument plan advocates hear fishermen’s concerns! But,,,,,,,,
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Peter Auster, retired University of Connecticut marine science professor and currently the senior research scientist at the Mystic Aquarium, made their case for declaring the New England Coral Canyons and Seamounts as a Marine National Monument during a program Tuesday evening at the aquarium. “This would be the first marine monument in the Atlantic,” said Blumenthal, who is leading the entire Connecticut congressional delegation in advocating for the designation. Blumenthal, saying he is “sensitive to the economic interests of our fishing industry,” But commercial fishing groups say the designation would cut off their access to productive areas for red crab, swordfish, tuna and offshore lobster harvests, among other species. “Those areas have been used for hundreds of years,” said Joe Gilbert, owner of Empire Fisheries,,, “We feel disenfranchised at this point,” Gilbert said. Read the story here 05:56
Aquarium scientist helps lead effort to designate Marine National Monument
An effort being led in part by Mystic Aquarium Senior Research Scientist Peter Auster is working to get President Barack Obama to designate a 4,000-square-nautical-mile area of ocean off Cape Cod as a Marine National Monument, which would be the first in the Atlantic Ocean. Located 150 miles southeast of Cape Cod, it is also a place that Auster said companies are beginning to show interest in mining the seamounts for precious metals. Designation of the area as a national monument would prevent “commercial extraction activities” such as mining, oil and gas drilling, as well as commercial fishing. Activities such as recreational angling, whale watching and boating would be permitted. Working with environmental groups, they are working to get the designation request to Obama to sign before he leaves office. Read the rest here 10:28
House Natural Resources Committee Demands Obama Administration Info on Marine Monument Designtions
The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee has demanded records of all meetings, correspondence and memos related to marine monument designations. The letter references emails that “show representatives from the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Pew Charitable Trusts warning their members to avoid talking to the ‘outside world’ about the organizations’ efforts to influence the Administration to announce a Marine National Monument off of New England during the ‘Our Ocean Conference’ in Chile.” The emails in question were originally obtained by Saving Seafood via public records requests, and were first reported by Greenwire. Read the rest here 17:00
Aleutians monument labeled threat, derided as ‘straw man’
Alaska Congressman Don Young and other Republicans on the House Natural Resources Committee Tuesday morning attacked the idea that President Obama might create a marine national monument around the Aleutian Islands, with unknown effects on the fishing industry. “I’ve watched this over and over: The creeping cancer of the federal government overreaching,” Young said. “The worst managers of any resource is the federal government. They do not manage. They preclude.” The idea of protecting the waters of the Aleutian Chain came from environmentalist and retired UAA professor Rick Steiner. Read the rest here 10:38
Con groups, fishermen divided over NOAA plan for marine national monument
Hundreds of people filled a conference hall Tuesday night to speak out on a federal proposal to permanently protect a network of deep-sea canyons and underwater mountains off New England by creating the first marine national monument on the Atlantic coast. Terry Stockwell, chairman of the New England Fishery Management Council, said the existing regulatory framework already protects Cashes Ledge and the New England Coral Canyons and Seamounts area. The council in April voted in favor of keeping Cashes Ledge closed to most fishing. Read the rest here 18:29
