President Donald Trump last week reopened the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument to commercial fishing, reversing restrictions reinstated in 2021. The move restores the management framework first put in place during his previous term.

The monument, located roughly 130 miles southeast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, spans nearly 5,000 square miles of Atlantic Ocean and contains deep-sea canyons and extinct volcanic seamounts that support a range of marine species.

“A prohibition on commercial fishing is not, at this time, necessary for the proper care and management of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument,” Trump wrote in the proclamation.

The area was designated a national monument in 2016 under the Antiquities Act. In 2020, Trump lifted the commercial fishing ban, stating that existing regulatory structures were sufficient to protect marine life. That access was later revoked before being reinstated under the new proclamation.

In his latest action, Trump pointed to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, which governs commercial fishing through science-based regional councils. He also cited protections under the Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, Clean Water Act, and National Marine Sanctuaries Act.

“All of the fish species described in Proclamation 9496 are subject to Federal protections under existing laws,” Trump wrote, noting that many species within the monument are highly migratory and not unique to the designated area.

The proclamation formally revokes the prior restriction and allows regulated commercial fishing to resume within the monument’s boundaries. The action follows a broader review of marine national monuments, with the administration arguing that conservation goals can be achieved through structured management rather than blanket prohibitions.