Mass. Fishermen Upset Over Designation Of Marine National Monument In Atlantic

On Thursday, President Obama is expected to declare a 5,000-square-mile area off Cape Cod a national monument.

The "Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument" is the first of its kind in the Atlantic Ocean.

Peter Shelley, with the Conservation Law Foundation, applauded the idea.

"This sort of protection is the most important thing we can do now to mitigate the effects of climate change on the ocean and to build resilience so that the ocean wildlife is able to cope with the stresses of climate change," Shelley told WBUR's Newscast Unit.

But the move will ban commercial fishing in the area, with some forms of it that would be banned as soon as November. And that's not sitting well with local fishermen.

Beth Casoni, with the Massachusetts Lobstermen's Association, joined Morning Edition.

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this post incorrectly spelled Casoni's surname. We regret the error.