July 14, 2016 — A new poll finds that eighty percent of Massachusetts residents favor protecting special ocean areas from activities like mining and fishing. A coalition pushing President Obama to create a marine national monument in New England waters say this is one more measure of support. But opponents say the poll was misleading and biased.
The National Coalition for Fishing Communities has criticized the poll, calling it misleading. They say the way the poll was constructed led people into saying yes. Also, they argue economic impacts on fisheries were down-played, and alternative ways of achieving conservation goals – besides a marine monument – were omitted.
“This isn’t an issue of do you believe or do you not believe important natural assets should be protected,” said Bob Vanasse, Executive Director of Saving Seafood. “It’s a question of how they should be protected, what should be allowed in those areas, and should there be a fair public process using existing law to do that.”
The fishing industry has maintained that they’re not opposed to protecting important areas, but that those protections should come out of a transparent public process. The pro-monument coalition counters that the fishery management process doesn’t provide adequate protection, and the federal legislature is unlikely to act. That leaves executive action as the only feasible option, they say.