Press Releases

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) released the following statement following President Trump’s roundtable with Maine fishermen and proclamation to rollback of marine monument protections:

“President Trump spent much of his roundtable saying he could fix trade policies that have hurt Maine fishermen with the stroke of a pen, but it is his failed trade policies that caused China to retaliate with a lobster tariff. The congressional delegation wrote to him last June to help our fishermen and he did nothing.”

“President Trump had four years to meet with Maine fishermen who have been devastated by his reckless trade and commerce policies, but did not. When Congress approved $300 million in COVID-19 relief money for the fishing industry, the Trump Administration dragged its feet to release that money. Forget the fact that the President doesn’t have explicit legal authority to unilaterally open up a national monument for commercial fishing, this will be tied up in the courts for years. This move will not provide economic benefits to the fishing industry at a time when markets have been lost, the global supply chain in shambles, and boats are tied up at the dock.”

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