BARNSTABLE – Between expanded fishing and oil drilling, more commercial enterprises could be coming to the waters around of Cape Cod.
The Trump Administration has issued multiple executive orders looking to advance business, with April 17’s “Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness” opening up the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument to commercial fishing, stripping protections for whales, sharks and more.
“Federal overregulation has restricted fishermen from productively harvesting American seafood including through restrictive catch limits, selling our fishing grounds to foreign offshore wind companies, inaccurate and outdated fisheries data, and delayed adoption of modern technology,” reads the executive order.
President Barack Obama designated the Marine National Monument in 2016.
The Department of the Interior also announced recently that it would fast-track permits for new oil and gas leases inshore waters, including in the Gulf of Maine.
It has been decades since an oil lease sale was held on the East coast, with much of the Northeast pushing towards offshore wind.
The Trump Administration has also halted all permit approvals for offshore wind developments, which is being fought by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell and other democrat-led states.
About Grady Culhane
