Saving Seafood

Biden’s decision to restore marine monument off Cape Cod is praised and criticized in Maine

October 12, 2021 — President Biden’s decision to restore the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument off Cape Cod got mixed reactions in Maine on Friday. 

But while the decision restores a prohibition on commercial fishing in the area, it is not expected to have much direct impact on the state’s industries because few, if any, Maine boats fish there.

Last year, President Trump opened the 5,000-square-mile area that had first been designated as a national monument by President Obama in 2016. Some Maine commercial fishing groups applauded the decision, even though the area wasn’t frequented by Maine-based fishermen and women. The monument had been seen as a symbolic affront to the industry.

Gov. Janet Mills criticized the Biden administration for taking such a major action without input from stakeholders, including the fishing industry.

“While I support environmental protection and conservation, this major action – which comes just mere weeks after advancing a right whale rule that that will seriously harm New England fishermen – is misguided and premature,” Mills said in a statement. “This decision was made without the appropriate engagement and consultation of stakeholders who deserve to have their voices heard. Fishermen are already reeling from heavy-handed Federal action and this further erodes faith that the Biden Administration will seek consensus from all stakeholders on important decisions impacting the marine environment.”

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

 

Biden is set to restore monuments. What happens next?

October 12, 2021 — As tribal leaders and environmentalists celebrate President Biden’s scheduled restoration today of more than 2 million acres of public lands to a pair of Utah monuments, activists stress that the pomp and circumstance is a precursor to extensive work that remains to be done to shore up those sites.

Biden is scheduled this afternoon to sign new proclamations, which have yet to be published, restoring millions of acres to both Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears national monuments.

He will also reinstate commercial fishing restrictions to Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument in the Atlantic Ocean (Greenwire, Oct. 7).

The action will reverse cuts President Trump made in 2017 at the behest of GOP lawmakers who had long criticized the monuments as a form of federal overreach by the Democratic presidents who established them.

It will also restore protections to the marine monument that Trump removed in 2020, opening the 5,000-square-mile site about 130 miles off the coast of Cape Cod, Mass., to commercial interests.

Saving Seafood Executive Director Bob Vanasse criticized the Biden administration’s decision for allowing recreational fishing to continue in the area, even as members of his industry advocacy group are locked out.

“While the Biden-Harris administration has claimed decisions will be based on science, and not on who has the stronger lobby, this decision shows otherwise,” Vanasse said.

“Prohibiting hardworking commercial fishermen from sustainably harvesting while allowing owners of luxury yachts to spear fish for the same species in the same location is hypocritical and calls into question this administration‘s commitment to working families over wealthy donors,” he added.

Read the full story at Greenwire

Biden expands Bears Ears and other national monuments, reversing Trump cuts

October 8, 2021 — President Biden on Friday restored full protections to three national monuments that had been slashed in size by former president Donald Trump, including Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante in Utah — known for their stunning desert landscapes and historical treasures of Native American art and settlements, as well as a rich fossil record.

Biden used an executive order to protect 1.36 million acres in Bears Ears —slightly larger than the original boundary that President Barack Obama established in 2016 — while also restoring the 1.78 million-acre Grand Staircase-Escalante monument. Biden also reimposed fishing restrictions in the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of New England that Trump had opened to commercial fishing.

Biden signed the proclamations in a ceremony outside the White House, in front of tribal leaders and others. He used his authority under the 1906 Antiquities Act.

Bob Vanasse, of Saving Seafood, a seafood industry advocacy group, called Biden’s designation an “unfortunate decision.”

“Anyone who likes fresh local swordfish, tuna, lobster and crabmeat should be very angry with the Harris-Biden administration today,” he said. “And I know some environmental advocates will claim that the statistics show that no harm has been done to the fisheries from this closure. They think that because they don’t understand fisheries and misunderstand the statistics.”

Read the full story at the Washington Post

Biden restores Northeast Canyons marine monument

October 8, 2021 — In another reversal of Trump administration moves, President Biden on Friday reinstated all restrictions to the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, including plans to phase out commercial fishing for red crab and lobster by Sept. 15, 2023.

Former president Barack Obama originally declared the monument area south of New England on that date in 2016, and former president Donald Trump rescinded the rules with some fanfare including an in-person meeting with fishing industry representatives in June 2020.

Environmental groups that had pushed Obama for the monument lobbied hard after Biden’s inauguration to flip that Trump order 180 degrees, along with reversing Trump’s reductions of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah.

Late Thursday they got word their wish was granted.

Commercial fishing advocates, who mobilized after Biden inauguration to argue against reinstating the monument rules, said the decision shows politics trumped consistent ocean policy.

“This is an unfortunate decision that is opposed not only by those affected in the commercial fishing industry, but by all eight fishery management councils and NOAA Fisheries,” said Bob Vanasse of Saving Seafood, an industry advocacy group. “There is no scientific justification to prohibit commercial fishing while allowing recreational fishing. While the Biden-Harris Administration has claimed decisions will be based on science, and not on who has the stronger lobby, this decision shows otherwise.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

WASHINGTON: Biden to restore boundaries of protected areas that were reduced by Trump

October 8, 2021 — President Joe Biden will restore the boundaries of three American nature reserves, known as national monuments, that were reduced in size by former President Donald Trump to allow commercial activity, the White House said on Thursday.

The restoration will protect more than 3.2 million acres (1.3 million hectares) in Southern Utah known as the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, as well as the nearly 5,000 square mile (8,000 sq km) Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of New England.

Environmental groups and Native American tribes cheered the news, calling it a victory for conservation over development. But it was a blow to East Coast fishing interests and Utah’s Republican governor, who expressed frustration.

Trump had sought to allow ranching, drilling, mining and commercial fishing in the areas, which were established as monuments by two of his Democratic predecessors, former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.

Read the full story from Reuters

Biden administration may reinstate Northeast marine monument restrictions

June 16, 2021 — The Biden administration could reinstate commercial fishing restrictions on the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Monument – and bring a new court challenge from the fishing industry, just months after Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts indicated he would be open to hearing a new case.

Reports Monday in the Washington Post and New York Times described a recommendation from Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to restore boundaries of the Bear Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah, which were established by former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, and cut back by former president Donald Trump in December 2017.

At the urging of ocean environmental groups, Obama imposed commercial fishing restrictions after establishing the 5,000-square mile Northeast marine monument in December 2018. In June 2020, Trump issued a new proclamation lifting those rules.

Within hours of President Biden’s inauguration Jan. 20, environmental groups pressed him to reimpose fishing restrictions, and fishing advocates mobilized, hoping to head that off.

How Biden decides this could set the stage for a new challenge to presidential authority under the Antiquities Act of 1906, which critics say has expanded far beyond its original intent.

“A commercial fishing ban serves no conservation benefit,” said James Budi of the American Sword and Tuna Harvesters, which has urged the Biden administration to hold off on renewing restrictions.

Officials at NMFS themselves say “pelagic longline gear used to catch swordfish has no impact on habitat,” said Budi. “Fishing impact on the monument below us is like a bird flying over the Grand Canyon.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Heinrich, Senate Democrats Call On Biden Administration To Undo Unlawful Changes To National Monuments

April 23, 2021 — The following was released by The Office of Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM):

U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, along with 18 of his Senate colleagues, sent a letter to U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland urging her recommend that President Biden undo any unlawful attacks on the Antiquities Act. Since 1906, sixteen presidents from both parties have used the Antiquities Act to protect places across the nation.

“From Chaco Canyon in New Mexico to Harriet Tubman’s house in Maryland, the Antiquities Act has long protected key landscapes and historical sites. National monuments protect our most precious natural, cultural, and historical resources, and threats to the integrity of any monuments established under the Antiquities Act threaten the protection of all monuments,” wrote the senators. 

President Trump eliminated 2 million acres of protections for Utah’s Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments — the largest rollback of federally protected lands in American history. The previous administration took this action despite the fact that Americans across the country overwhelmingly voiced support for keeping the monuments intact.

The question of the validity of these reductions is being challenged in court, which is now on hold pending the Biden administration’s review of President Trump’s actions. Secretary Haaland visited Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument last week and is expected to make a recommendation to President Biden soon.

“During your confirmation process, you committed to undertaking a thorough review of the Antiquities Act proclamations of the previous Administration. Former President Trump illegally attempted to reduce the protections provided by proclamations that previous presidents issued. We urge you to defend the Antiquities Act and recommend that President Biden review President Trump’s actions and undo any unlawful attacks on the Antiquities Act,” continued the senators.

National monuments and America’s public lands help fuel an $887 billion outdoor recreation industry, which sustains 7.6 million jobs and creates $65.3 billion in federal tax revenue and $59.2 billion in local and state tax revenue. In New Mexico alone, the outdoor recreation economy is responsible for 99,000 jobs.

The letter, led by Senator Heinrich, was also signed by U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawai’i), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawai’i), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.)

The full text of the letter is below and available here. 

Dear Secretary Haaland:

We write in support of the Antiquities Act and the critical role it plays in protecting our nation’s most important and endangered places.

Since 1906, sixteen presidents have used the Antiquities Act to protect places across our nation. From Chaco Canyon in New Mexico to Harriet Tubman’s house in Maryland, the Antiquities Act has long protected key landscapes and historical sites. National monuments protect our most precious natural, cultural, and historical resources, and threats to the integrity of any monuments established under the Antiquities Act threaten the protection of all monuments.

During your confirmation process, you committed to undertaking a thorough review of the Antiquities Act proclamations of the previous Administration. Former President Trump illegally attempted to reduce the protections provided by proclamations that previous presidents issued. We urge you to defend the Antiquities Act and recommend that President Biden review President Trump’s actions and undo any unlawful attacks on the Antiquities Act.

We thank you for your commitment to conservation of our nation’s most important places and history.

SEAN HORGAN: Chief Justice Roberts Takes Aim At Antiquities Act

March 30, 2021 — It sounds as if Supreme Court Justice John Roberts thinks the practice of presidents abusing the Antiquities Act, to accomplish what they never could in the usual three-corner offense of American democracy, has gotten old.

Last week, the Supreme Court rejected a petition, with the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association as lead plaintiff, that challenged then President Barack Obama’s legal use of the 1906 Antiquities Act to designate the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument off the coast of Massachusetts.

Viewed through the narrowest of prisms, the Supreme Court no-call was a victory for marine conservationists and another blow to the commercial fishing industry. But viewed with a wider lens, it could also serve as the starting gun for even more challenges to the presidential use of the Antiquities Act to designate monuments and landmarks when all other political measures fail.

The chief justice, according to a Bloomberg Law story, questioned how much scope presidents actually should have under the law “that was intended to protect prehistoric Indigenous artifacts and the smallest area compatible with protection.

“Somewhere along the line, however, this restriction has ceased to pose any meaningful restraint,” Roberts wrote. “A statute permitting the president in his sole discretion to designate monuments ‘landmarks,’ ‘structures,’ and ‘objects’ — along with the smallest area of land compatible with their management — has been transformed into a power without any discernible limit to set aside vast and amorphous expanses of terrain above and below the sea.”

Court watchers and the legal community were agog. This, they said, almost never happens. Color us agog, too.

“Fishing groups opposed to the Northeast canyons monument are disappointed the court refused to hear the case,” the Bloomberg Law story stated, adding though that Roberts’ statement was being viewed by the industry (well, its lawyers) as a silver lining.

“It’s a big deal for the chief to file a statement like that,” Jonathan Wood, senior attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation, who represented the fishing interests. “I read it basically inviting similar cases. It’s trying to send a signal to the Supreme Court bar of, ‘This is an issue I’m interested in. Start bringing me the cases’.”

We here at FishOn have never been to the Supreme Court bar, but we too would like them to start bringing us some cases. Start with the Jameson and we’ll work our way around the dial.

Read the full opinion piece at the Gloucester Daily Times

Top Natural Resources Republican asks Haaland for details on national monuments

March 29, 2021 — Rep. Bruce Westerman (Ark.), the top Republican on the House Natural Resources Committee, requested further information Monday from Interior Secretary Deb Haaland on the department’s review of the boundaries and protections of national monuments.

The Trump administration reduced the boundaries of two Utah sites, Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante.

Biden in January ordered a review of the boundaries with a report of its findings issued within 60 days. However, the department has since announced it will publish the report after Haaland completes a visit to the monuments in April, after the 60-day window.

“While the planned visit to Utah, as well as reports of DOI [Department of the Interior] aides meeting with stakeholders, are encouraging steps, many matters remain unclear. For example, there is uncertainty whether DOI plans to initiate a formal, public comment period and how local support for the Trump administration’s decision will factor into future analysis,” Westerman wrote.

Read the full story at The Hill

Supreme Court won’t hear fishermen case against ocean monument

March 23, 2021 — The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from a fishing group that challenged the creation of a large federally protected area in the Atlantic Ocean.

The group sued to try to get rid of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, which became the first national ocean monument in the Atlantic when President Barack Obama created it in 2016. The area consists of 5,000 square miles off New England, and it is home to fragile deep-sea corals.

The fishermen sued in federal court saying the establishment of a protected zone where they have historically fished for lobsters and crabs could hurt their livelihoods. Federal district and appellate courts ruled that the monument was created appropriately by Obama, who used the Antiquities Act to establish it.

The high court denied a request to take a look at the case. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that the creation of a national monument was “of no small consequence,” but the petitioners did not meet the criteria to bring it before the Supreme Court.

Roberts also wrote that the court has never considered how such a large monument can be justified under the Antiquities Act, which President Theodore Roosevelt created more than a century ago to preserve artifacts such as Native American ruins. Roberts wrote it’s possible the court could be presented a better opportunity to consider that issue in the future.

Read the full story at the Associated Press