April 18, 2018 — Commercial fishing groups are joining in federal court to challenge the creation of the Atlantic Ocean’s first-ever marine national monument. But the federal government is now asking for the case to be tossed out.
At stake is the future of roughly 5,000 square miles off the coast of Massachusetts, called the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts.
President Barack Obama used the federal Antiquities Act to protect the zone in 2016. His office said it contained critical wildlife habitat.
The order stopped commercial fishing there, but did allow red crab and lobster fisheries a seven-year window to close up shop.
Read the full story at New England Public Radio