Trump ends Obama-era restrictions on commercial fishing in protected area off New England

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday reopening a huge swath of protected sea in the Atlantic Ocean to commercial fishing.

Trump said the order would reestablish fishing in Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument off the New England coast, a nearly 5,000-square-mile preserve east of Cape Cod that was created by former President Barack Obama. Trump rolled back protections in the area in 2020 and President Joe Biden later restored them.

Trump’s executive order is his latest move to try to strengthen U.S. fishing while rolling back existing conservation measures. He signed a broader order earlier this year that calls on the federal government to reduce the regulatory burden on fishermen in the coming weeks.

Trump has long been critical of the marine monument, which Obama described at the time as a chance to protect vulnerable undersea corals and ecosystems. Trump has described it as an unfair penalty on commercial fishermen.

The president wrote in Friday's executive order that he believed “appropriately managed commercial fishing would not put the objects of historic and scientific interest that the monument protects at risk.”

Trump signaled that he would restore fishing in the area in May. The White House said at the time the move would “support the vital Maine lobster industry by ensuring unfettered access to the coastal waters of the United States.”

Trump has frequently linked his support of fishing rights in the monument to Maine fishermen, though the protected area is located southeast of Cape Cod.

Commercial fishing groups have long sought the reopening of the protected area and voiced support on Friday.

“By reopening the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts to commercial fishing, fairness, transparency, and science-based governance has been restored to the affected fisheries,” said Bob Vanasse, executive director of Washington, D.C.-based Saving Seafood.

Environmental groups have been highly critical of the move to reopen the monument to fishing. Some have vowed to fight it in court.

“The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument was created to provide strong protections for the wide range of marine life that live in these unique habitats,” said Gib Brogan, fisheries campaign director at environmental group Oceana.

Environmentalists are also challenging Trump’s executive order that they say removes important protections from the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument off Hawaii. That is a much larger marine monument created by President George W. Bush in 2009 and later expanded by Obama.