September 16, 2016 — PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Fishermen in New England say President Barack Obama needlessly dealt a big blow to their industry when he created the Atlantic Ocean’s first marine national monument and circumvented the existing process for protecting fisheries.

The new Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument consists of nearly 5,000 square miles of underwater canyons and mountains off the New England coast. The designation will close the area to commercial fishermen, who go there primarily for lobster, red crab, squid, whiting, butterfish, swordfish and tuna.

After Thursday’s announcement, fishermen pondered their next move: sue, lobby Congress to change the plan or relocate. It’s hard to move, they said, because other fishermen would likely already be fishing where they would want to go.

They said the designation process wasn’t transparent and the administration should have let the New England Fishery Management Council finish working on the coral protection measures it’s considering.

“There seems to be a huge misconception that there are limitless areas where displaced fishermen can go,” said Grant Moore, president of the Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen’s Association. “Basically with the stroke of a pen, President Obama put fishermen and their crews out of work and harmed all the shore-side businesses that support the fishing industry.”

The lobstermen’s association and other fishermen wanted the White House to allow fishing in depths of up to 450 meters, so they could still go there but deep-sea corals would have been protected. Annually, about 800,000 pounds (362,877 kilograms) of lobster are caught near the canyons, according to the lobstermen’s association.

White House officials said the administration listened to industry’s concerns and made the monument smaller, with a seven-year transition period for the lobster and red crab industries.

Industry advocate Robert Vanasse said it’s clear the plan will decrease the supply of fish species, and typically a decrease in supply, raises prices. It’s difficult to gauge the economic impact this early, added Vanasse, executive director of Saving Seafood.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at Fox Business