PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Fishermen in New England say President Barack Obama needlessly dealt a big blow to their industry when he created the Atlantic Ocean’s first marine national monument and circumvented the process for protecting fisheries.

The new Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument consists of nearly 5,000 square miles of underwater canyons and mountains off the New England coast. The designation will close the area to commercial fishermen, who go there primarily for lobster, red crab, squid, whiting, butterfish, swordfish and tuna.

After Thursday’s announcement, fishermen pondered their next move: sue, lobby Congress to change the plan or relocate. It’s hard to move, they said, because other fishermen would likely already be fishing where they would want to go.

“There seems to be a huge misconception that there are limitless areas where displaced fishermen can go,” said Grant Moore, president of the Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen’s Association. “Basically with the stroke of a pen, President Obama put fishermen and their crews out of work and harmed all the shore-side businesses that support the fishing industry.”

The lobstermen’s association and other fishermen wanted the White House to allow fishing in depths of up to 1,476 feet, so they could still go there and yet protect deep-sea corals. Annually, about 800,000 pounds of lobster are caught near the canyons, according to the lobstermen’s association.

Lobsterman Bill Palombo of Newport, R.I., and others questioned why, if the area is considered pristine and fishermen have been going there for decades, can’t fishing continue?

The designation was widely praised by environmentalists as a way to sustain important species and reduce climate change.