Pacific fishing interests oppose Obama’s plan to expand marine reserve
..........................President George W. Bush used his executive authority to establish thePacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, which now encompasses almost 87,000 square miles, in 2009. Obama is now contemplating widening those boundaries to cover nearly 782,000 square miles of federal waters, which would be off-limits to fishing, energy exploration and other activities. Right now the designation extends 50 miles out from shore; it could be extended as far out as 200 miles from shore around each of the U.S. territories.
The statement, which was approved by the council's executive committee, argues this broad expansion would deprive American fishing operators of an important resource. "U.S. fishermen, including those in the Pacific, already abide by the strictest fishing regulations in the world, and this plan further inhibits their economic survival," they wrote, adding it would yield "few, if any, ecological benefits from the restrictions."............Michael Conathan, who directs ocean policy at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, noted the monument "is very much a work in progress" since the administration will be taking comment on its plan.
"They talk about this as if it’s a done deal," Conathan said of the fishery council's statement.
There is also an effort underway in Congress to deny Obama the authority to create a national marine monument under the 1906 Antiquities Act, which presidents from both parties have invoked over the past century. Last week Rep. Steve Southerland, a fierce critic of the administration's ocean policies, introduced a bill that would require congressional approval for any new national monument.
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