[njdiver]

Here is an example of a successful fight against a bid to create National Monuments offshore:

PRESS RELEASE

PRESIDENT OBAMA WILL NOT DESIGNATE CASHES LEDGE AS A NATIONAL MONUMENT

For more information contact:
Jackie Odell Maggie Raymond
Northeast Seafood Coalition Associated Fisheries of Maine
978-836-7999 207-384-4854

MARCH 25, 2016 / Boston, MA, Representatives of the White House Council on Environmental Quality met with fishing industry leaders and other stakeholders yesterday to announce that President Obama will not designate the marine habitat within or surrounding Cashes Ledge as a National Monument. Located approximately 80 miles offshore in the Gulf of Maine, Cashes serves an important and historic area that has been fished commercially and recreationally for decades.

In response to the announcement, Terry Alexander, President, Associated Fisheries of Maine said, “Commercial fishermen in New England face continuous regulatory uncertainty, so it is a relief to know that there is one less restriction on fishing to worry about. We believe that the President was persuaded by a lack of scientific information to support such a designation, as well as the position expressed by stakeholders that decisions about closing areas to fishing should take place under the process outlined in the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA).”

Vito Giacalone, Chair of Governmental Affairs for the Northeast Seafood Coalition said, “We are relieved by the President’s decision to forego a National Monument designation on Cashes Ledge, As stakeholders who participated in a lengthy, thorough and transparent public process to identify and protect important marine habitats such as Cashes Ledge, we are grateful and pleased to hear that the MSA process we all followed has been acknowledged and respected by the Obama Administration. We are sincerely grateful that the President, after gathering all pertinent facts, saw that the use of Executive Order was unnecessary in light of the process that has already taken place through the New England Fisheries Management Council.

Consideration of National Monument designations in the offshore Canyon areas of Southern New England remains ongoing, and affected fishermen should remain vigilant in assuring that any concerns they may have are addressed.

The American Antiquities Act of 1906 provides authority for the President to declare by public proclamation historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest that are situated upon the lands owned or controlled by the Government of the United States to be national monuments.