PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — New England fishermen who opposed President Barack Obama’s creation of the Atlantic Ocean’s first marine national monument are hopeful President-elect Donald Trump will abolish it, shrink it or allow fishing inside it.
Trump, a Republican, hasn’t specifically addressed the monument. He has said he’d undo Obama’s policies he views as executive overreach.
Obama, a Democrat, has protected more land and water using national monument designations than any other president.
Fishing industry advocate Robert Vanasse says with a Trump White House and GOP-controlled House, “It’s a new day.”
The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument consists of nearly 5,000 square miles of underwater canyons and mountains off New England’s coast. Obama created it in September.
Environmentalists say they’ll fight any effort to change it.
Trump’s spokeswoman couldn’t immediately be reached.
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