NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (AP) — New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell is traveling to Washington, D.C. to express concerns of port communities about the federal government’s approach to marine monument designations.
Mitchell will testify Wednesday at a congressional hearing. He’ll represent the port of New Bedford and the National Coalition for Fishing Communities before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Water, Poser and Oceans.
A coalition of commercial fishing groups this month filed a lawsuit challenging former President Barack Obama’s decision to create a national monument off the coast of New England, using his executive authority under the Antiquities Act. Creation of the monument closed the area to most commercial fishing.
Mitchell says fisheries have been managed for 40 years under the federal Magnuson Act. He says public discussion is needed about the two acts.
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