ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH NEWS • June 14, 2020
At a time when ocean scientists are warning that a dramatic increase is needed in establishing marine protected areas, Trump is taking aim at the first such zone in U.S. Atlantic waters. The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, created by President Obama in his last year in office, set a unique area in the Gulf of Maine off limits to commercial fishing. The monument area is a hotspot for several endangered whale species, and not of particularly high interest to New England's beleaguered fishery. When the administration moved to re-open the Monument to fishing, both Maine's governor, Democrat Janet Mills, and Republican Senator Susan Collins objected.