The Obama administration is no longer considering Cashes Ledge – a biodiversity hot spot in the Gulf of Maine – for national monument designation.
Officials from the White House Council on Environmental Quality conveyed that message Thursday to fishing industry regulators and representatives from Maine and Massachusetts during a meeting in Boston. Conservationists have sought monument status for years, but fishermen opposed the designation amid concerns about additional restrictions in an area already tightly managed by federal fisheries regulators.
Maggie Raymond, executive director of Associated Fisheries of Maine and one of the attendees of Thursday’s meeting, said members of her trade association were pleased to learn the news about Cashes Ledge. A White House spokesperson confirmed that “Cashes Ledge is not under consideration for a designation at this time.”
