President Donald Trump will sign a proclamation on Friday to restore commercial fishing access to the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, located off the coast of New England. This move is in line with the Trump administration’s broader efforts to reduce regulations it deems burdensome to businesses and economic activities.
The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, which spans nearly 5,000 square miles (13,000 square kilometers), was originally designated by former President Barack Obama in 2016 to protect vulnerable marine species such as deep-sea corals, sea turtles, and whales. Trump first opened the monument to fishing in 2020, but the decision was reversed by President Joe Biden in 2021.
The upcoming proclamation is expected to support fishing communities and bolster local economic activity, according to a White House official. This decision follows recent findings from an aerial survey conducted by the New England Aquarium and supported by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The survey recorded over 600 animals, including a humpback whale calf and several bottlenose dolphin calves.
Peter Auster, a marine sciences expert at the University of Connecticut, emphasized the importance of the monument as a reference site for studying the impact of human activity on ocean ecosystems.
Source: Swifteradio.com
