BOSTON— Conservation Law Foundation, Natural Resources Defense Council, the Center for Biological Diversity, and whale-watch naturalist Zack Klyver sued the Trump administration to block its unlawful attempt to open the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument to destructive commercial fishing.

The monument is roughly 4,900 square miles, and its unique underwater geography supports a vibrant reservoir of ocean life. President Trump’s February proclamation allowing commercial fishing in the monument would inflict long-term damage to precious natural resources without meaningful economic benefits.

The Canyons and Seamounts is the Atlantic Ocean’s first and only marine national monument. It’s a hotspot of biodiversity, sheltering endangered whales, undiscovered deep-sea life, and cold-water corals that can take centuries to grow. Removing protections and allowing commercial fishing within the ocean monument boundaries would cause irreparable damage to its delicate life.

“Conservation Law Foundation campaigned to establish this monument because the life it shelters is unique and irreplaceable. The last time the Trump administration tried to strip away protections, we sued and kept fighting until protections were restored. We’re ready to do it again,” said Chloe Fross, staff attorney for CLF.

President Trump briefly imperiled the national monument in 2020 when he signed a proclamation allowing commercial fishing in the area, but CLF, NRDC, the Center and Klyver sued to challenge his unlawful rollback. President Biden restored protections when he took office in 2021. Federal courts have also previously ruled that the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts was created legally in response to a challenge from fishing industry groups.

“Northeast Canyons and Seamounts is a living scientific laboratory and a refuge for species as varied as cold-water corals and sperm whales. Only the Trump administration would think it makes sense to open it up to damage and harm from commercial fishing,” said Devon Flanagan, a senior attorney at NRDC. “That decision is clearly unlawful, and we will be fighting it in court until we win.”

The lawsuit, filed Monday, says Trump has no legal authority to abolish or diminish national monuments established by a prior president.

“It’s short-sighted and completely illegal for Trump to try and rob this marine monument of critical protections,” said Kristen Monsell, oceans legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Atlantic whales and corals have so few refuges off our coast, they can’t afford to battle it out with commercial fishing operations in one of their only protected areas. We’re not going to accept this abuse of power and threat to imperiled marine life.”

“I have taken over 750,000 people out on the ocean to see wildlife, so I know how important it is to protect this marine monument. My business depends on a healthy ocean,” said Zack Klyver, co-chair of the North Atlantic Whale Watch Naturalist Association. “Trump’s attack on New England’s only marine monument is one I take personally. We need to protect our oceans and their abundance of marine life if future generations are to experience them.”