September 16, 2016 — The establishment of the first marine national monument in the Atlantic Ocean drew mixed reactions Thursday, with environmental groups hailing the new protections that some New England fishermen denounced as a threat to their livelihood.
The designation bans commercial fishing in an expansive ecosystem off Cape Cod in a concerted effort to protect the area from the impact of climate change, President Obama said as he announced the designation at the Our Ocean Conference in Washington, D.C.
But fishermen said the area should remain open, asserting that decades of commercial fishing have not damaged the ecosystem. They accused the Obama administration of ignoring their recommendations for compromise measures.
One proposal would have allowed fishing in the area as far down as 450 meters and kept the area open to red crab fishing, said Grant Moore, president of the Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen’s Association. An average of 800,000 pounds of lobster are taken from the monument area every year, he said.
Denny Colbert, who runs Trebloc Seafood in Plymouth with his brother, said he sends two vessels to the area to catch lobster and Jonah crabs.
“It’s unbelievable,” he said. “I’m going to have to find another place to go.”
Bill Palombo, president of Palombo Fishing Corp. in Newport, R.I., said lobster and red crab are plentiful in the area.
“It’s going to be devastating for us,” said Palombo.
The designation prevents access to the main source of red crab in New England, said Beth Casoni, executive director of the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association. “The red crab industry is primarily fished in these canyons,” she said. “I don’t see them going anywhere else. That’s where it is.”