"President Trump has spent his entire time in office selling out our public lands and coasts to Big Oil. His announcement last Friday has nothing to with helping families who depend on fishing for their livelihoods, it's about Trump trying to score some political points by rolling back environmental protections without authority. Let's be clear: if President Trump had his way, he would happily surround the marine national monument with offshore oil rigs, which would be devastating for the ocean, fishing, and coastal communities.  Fishing and environmental protection are compatible and science should be used to manage our marine ecosystems. We will continue to fight to conserve our public lands and waters for future generations. 

This action from the Trump administration will be tied up in the courts for years, but our fishing industry needs help now. We should focus on solutions that provide immediate help to the fishing industry, which has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to the $28 million in disaster assistance and $20 million in seafood procurement we helped secure for our Massachusetts fishing industry, we are calling for a total of $500 million in financial assistance to more fully counteract the harms that the pandemic is having on their businesses and way of life."

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