From the September 16 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends:
Fox's Doocy Promotes Claim That Atlantic Marine Monument Was Created To “Appease Environmental Terrorists”
Fox & Friends Hosts Don't Comment When Deadliest Catch Guest Acknowledges “Increased Water Temperatures” From Climate Change Are Affecting Fisheries Across U.S.
Written by Media Matters Staff
Published
BRIAN KILMEADE (CO-HOST): President Obama creating the first marine monument in the Atlantic Ocean making it off-limits for drilling and fishing and crabbing and everything else.
STEVE DOOCY (CO-HOST): That's going to be tough for fishermen. The area located off the new England coast designated 5,000 square miles, as you can see right here in this image, as protected waters for an area known for crab and lobster. Fishermen like the ones in the show Deadliest Catch worry that the move could cost hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars out of their pocket (sic).
AINSLEY EARHARDT (CO-HOST): And one of the stars of the show, Captain Keith Colburn, he's going to, he very -- as he joins us now. Keith, how is this affecting your life?
CAPTAIN KEITH COLBURN: Good morning. Well, directly affecting my life, it's not because Alaska is so far and so remote compared to the Atlantic Ocean, but indirectly affecting us is just the manner in which the Obama administration is using the Antiquities Act to close off this area to a resource that fishermen have been harvesting and using for decades.
KILMEADE: So in terms of economic value, in terms of fishermen, are they fighting back in an organized fashion against this protection push?
COLBURN: Fishermen right now on the Eastern seaboard, and I actualy just talked to a friend of mine from Maine, are a little confused, and this has come about relatively quickly. Usually there is a process. We go through the regional councils. It's transparent and all participants are given a fair voice and fair chance to respond. But the president, using his authority, is basically creating a national monument, and it's a national underwater monument.
DOOCY: Sure, and that means guys like you can't fish there. I know you talked to one of our producers yesterday and you said your biggest concern, this is something being done to appease environmental terrorists. What do you mean?
COLBURN: Well, I would say environmental zealots would be a better term. But there is a very hard-left faction that is probably, would be more than happy to close off every waterway, every piece of ocean, lake, and stream that we have without any real due cause. We've been harvesting things out of the water as Americans for centuries and it's part of our way of life.
DOOCY: Plus, you're the first line of defense! That's your bread and butter. And you're not going to overfish it because if you do that, then there's nothing next year.
COLBURN: Well, yeah, and that's a misconception. Fishermen, we have to be good stewards of our resource. We're the first ones there, we're the ones that are witnessing firsthand what our changing oceans and increased water temperatures are doing to all of our fisheries around the United States. So we have a vested interesting in making sure we maintain sustainable fisheries long term not only for now but for future generations.
DOOCY: So why is he doing this? Why do you think he's doing this?
COLBURN: I believe -- this isn't, this is not unprecedented. George W. Bush created a marine monument in the Pacific Ocean towards the end of his presidential term, and I believe President Obama is doing something similar. But what concerns me is that this one is so close to the East Coast. This is only 130 miles off of Cape Cod.
EARHARDT: Don't you just love it when big government comes in and tells you how to run your life? It reminds me when Hillary Clinton said that she wanted to shut down all the mines. She meets with the mine workers in West Virginia and they're like, “These are pictures of my kids. You are taking me out of work and I can't pay for my kids to eat now.”
COLBURN: Well, and that's the thing. People that are being directly affected, communities, and whatnot may not have been taken completely into account on this measure.
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Previously:
Where Is Fox News' Outrage Over Keystone XL Land Rights?
Fox Host Insists Global Temperatures Have “Stabilized Or Gone Down A Little Bit”
Two Fox Anchors Admit Hillary Clinton Was Unfairly Attacked For Being Honest About Coal Miners