President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Tuesday to celebrate Maine fishermen and to discuss his work to remove Obama-era restrictions on fishing off Maine’s coast, while hinting at resistance from Maine’s political leaders.
[RELATED: New England Fishermen Celebrate Trump Executive Order Aimed at Restoring the U.S. Seafood Industry…]
“I approved FULL Fishing Rights in the Ocean Waters, directly off the Coast of Maine, that were viciously taken away from them by the Obama/Biden Administration. They were not allowed to fish in those waters, and it would take them more than a day to get into areas, less fertile, where they were allowed to fish,” said President Trump.
“In the meantime, Canada fished, and did very well in these formerly unrestricted areas. Immediately upon Sleepy Joe taking Office, his “AUTOPEN” rejected the Deal that I made for the people of Maine, greatly hurting the Fishermen and women. They call it a restricted “Environmental Monument,” an Ode to the Environmentalists doing everything they can to destroy our Country. In actuality, it was a punishment to the State by Obama/Biden,” he added.
Trump criticized former president Barack Obama’s decision to create the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, a 4,913-square-mile area of ocean off the New England coast where commercial fishing is now heavily restricted.
[RELATED: Trump Pledges to Restore Mainers’ Fishing Rights, Slams Obama-Biden “Ode to Environmentalists”]
Those restrictions has caused a severe strain on Maine fishermen, who have been forced to abandon their usual fishing areas and travel much further out to less fecund waters.
Trump pointed out that by restricting fishing off Maine’s coast, the U.S. is allowing Canada to dominate the fishing industry because Canada does not impose restrictions on fishing in the same waters.
“In the meantime, Canada fished, and did very well in these formerly unrestricted areas,” said Trump.
During his first term in office, Trump deregulated the marine national monuments and restored Maine fishermen to their historic waters. President Joe Biden quickly reversed Trump’s decision, and the waters currently remain tightly regulated.
Trump hinted at actions he is taking to once again deregulate the waters, though he did not provide any specifics, and suggested that he faces opposition from some Maine political leaders.
“In any event, and as the World knows, I ended up winning the Election of 2024 in a LANDSLIDE, and am now working diligently to bring these valuable Fishing Rights back to Maine. Unfortunately, I have certain obstacles that only your Political Leaders can tell you about,” said Trump.
He didn’t specifically mention Gov. Janet Mills (D-Maine), but her administration has resisted the president in various ways, from immigration issues to trans-identifying males in women’s sports.
Trump also mentioned his work for Maine’s loggers in his post, but he did not include any specifics on that issue.
While the president appears to be facing some difficulties in deregulating Maine’s oceans, he has already taken some actions to support fishermen with an April executive order aimed at restoring U.S. dominance in the seafood industry.
The order called on the Secretary of Commerce to determine whether opening marine monuments to commercial fishing would be consistent with the preservation of their natural value.
The order also pushed for a variety of other deregulation initiatives and addressed unfair foreign trade practices and potentially unsafe imports.
Former Maine Republican governor and current frontrunner in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District House race, Paul LePage, thanked Trump for his new statement, and promised to resist any attempts at regulating Maine’s fishing industry.
“Thank you President Trump for standing up and fighting for Maine fishermen and women. As Governor, I directly opposed any so-called monuments impacting our sustainable fishing industry and will continue to oppose these in Congress,” said LePage on X.
