July 27, 2016 — Let’s talk Antiquities. In 1607 when Capt. John Smith, Admiral of New England, sailed the Chesapeake Bay, he lowered a net, hauled in his catch, and fed his crew. Jamestown, and similar settlements were developed and despite disease and famine, early colonial America, by the skin of its teeth, held on through trade with the American Indians for produce, meat, and fish. And there you have it—commercial fishing in America was born.  It’s a time-honored tradition that has fed our nation’s families for years and there is no place better known for its seafood than New England.

Now, an ironically named act, The Antiquities Act, threatens that culture, that heritage, that living history. About a year ago the movement to establish a marine monument in the North Atlantic stirred anger and distrust among New Englanders, and rightfully so. That’s because the area proposed for a marine monument means eliminating fishing from some of the richest fishing grounds our nation has to offer. Fish from these waters has been the keystone to our country’s development and sovereignty. Oil from New England’s historic whaling grounds produced the light by which our nation’s Declaration of Independence, and Constitution were written. The favorite vacation spot of American presidents, Cape Cod, is named for the codfish native to our waters. Lobster boils, clambakes, and chowder festivals, are every bit American as baseball and barbeques.

The motivation behind shutting down commercial fishing in areas of southeastern Georges Bank and beyond is for one reason, and one reason only—to preserve our nation’s historic coral habitats. Corals? Yes. And there is a reason why none of us had heard about these corals in any of our American history classes. That’s because these coral grounds are the corals our nation has respectfully left in peace and ignored since 1607.  And what a time-honored tradition it has been.

Read the full opinion column at Southern Rhode Island Newspapers