March 9, 2017 — U.S President Donald Trump has been asked to remove all marine monument fishing prohibitions and reinstate fisheries management in accordance with federal law.
The request, made yesterday in a two-page letter by US Rep. Rob Bishop, chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources and American Samoa’s Congresswoman Aumua Amata, says prohibitions on commercial fishing in waters around marine monuments have impacted US fishing fleet as well as one cannery operation in Pago Pago.
“Using the Antiquities Act to close U.S waters to domestic fisheries is a clear example of federal overreach and regulatory duplication and obstructs well managed, sustainable U.S. fishing industries in favor of their foreign counterparts,” the letter from the Republican lawmakers point out.