WASHINGTON, DC – This week, Congressman Bill Delahunt joined with his colleagues in the Massachusetts Congressional Delegation to sponsor the Georges Bank Preservation Act which will protect Georges Bank from any oil or natural gas drilling and ensure long term protection of the area for the New England Fishing Industry.

“For twenty five years, there has been a strong bipartisan consensus to protect the rich and fragile fishing grounds of Georges Bank,” Delahunt said.  “It is important that we send a strong and clear message that these protections are important and must continue for future generations.”

In July, President Bush lifted the Presidential Executive Order that establishes an administrative moratorium on offshore drilling.  The longstanding Congressional ban on offshore drilling will expire at the end of this month.   This will open the outer continental shelf, including Georges Bank, to oil exploration in federal waters, which commence three miles off the coast.

Delahunt joined with Rep. Markey to include provisions protecting Georges Bank in an energy bill passed by the House of Representatives last week but this legislation has stalled in the Senate.  House leaders had hoped this language would also be added to the ‘continuing resolution' bill to fund the government which is now working its way through Congress. However, resistance by President Bush and House Republicans forced Congressional leaders to drop provisions protecting coastal waters, including those protecting George’s Bank.

The fishing grounds of Georges Bank are vital to the New England economy.  It is one of the richest and most productive fishing grounds in the world. The combined landings of New Bedford, Gloucester, and Provincetown-Chatham are valued at over $350 million annually.

The bill would also permanently ban drilling in National Marine Sanctuaries, including the Gerry E. Studds Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, located off of the coast of Massachusetts. The bill is cosponsored by Representatives Markey, Frank, McGovern, Tierney, Tsongas, and Capuano.

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