Members of the Trump administration have indicated that Papahānaumokuākea, the protected area surrounding the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, could potentially be next for commercial fishing.
In a significant pivot towards commercial interests, President Donald Trump has opened one of the largest protected regions in the Central Pacific Ocean to commercial fishing by lifting a ban intended to conserve the area’s delicate marine life, including fish, sharks, sea turtles, marine mammals, and more.
This executive order, signed by Trump on Thursday, paves the way for U.S. fishing fleets to access waters within the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument, formerly known as the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument.
This protected area encompasses a collection of remote islands and atolls alongside approximately 495,000 square miles of ocean surrounding them.
The order was met with immediate backlash from local conservation groups, who deemed Trump’s decision a significant setback for efforts aimed at preserving vital biodiversity across the Pacific.
Environmental advocacy organizations expressed that the order oversteps Trump’s presidential authority and signaled readiness to challenge it in federal court.
Conversely, supporters from the seafood industry hailed the executive order as a necessary measure to mitigate regulatory overreach and address global trade imbalances associated with industrial fishing.
The implications of Trump’s order spark concerns over whether other protected U.S. territorial waters in the Pacific, particularly the Papahānaumokuākea marine protected area, may soon allow for commercial fishing operations.
A provision within the order instructs the U.S. Commerce Secretary to examine all other marine monuments and provide recommendations within 180 days on whether any additional areas should be opened for commercial fishing.
Papahānaumokuākea was designated as a Marine National Monument in 2006.
It was subsequently designated as a Marine National Sanctuary on January 16, but requires “45 days of continuous session of the U.S. Congress” for those additional sanctuary protections to take effect.
As of Thursday, it remained unclear whether the 45 days of Congressional session had elapsed.
At present, commercial fishing is prohibited within the Northwestern Hawaiian Island waters of Papahānaumokuākea, which spans over 528,000 square miles of ocean.
Additionally, longline fishing is banned at least 50 miles offshore of Hawaii’s main islands.
During the signing ceremony, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick questioned, “Why wouldn’t we have our fishermen fish there?” alluding to U.S. territorial boundaries off Hawaii and American Samoa.
At his side was Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council Executive Director Kitty Simonds, a long-time opponent of marine protected areas across the Pacific who has advocated for increased commercial fishing access to those waters.
An Unexpected Change
Johnston Atoll, Wake Island, Jarvis Island, Palmyra Atoll/Kingman Reef, and the Baker and Howland Islands have enjoyed protection since President George W. Bush established the Pacific Islands Heritage Monument in 2009, which imposed regulations against deep-sea mining and commercial fishing in their waters extending out to 50 miles.
In 2014, President Barack Obama dramatically expanded the monument by over fivefold, extending the boundary to the federal limit of 200 miles surrounding all the islands and atolls, with the exceptions of Palmyra/Kingman and Baker and Howland.
The areas now poised for commercial fishing access under Trump’s directive would cover the regions previously expanded by Obama, from 50 miles out to 200 miles.
In recent years, there were efforts to further extend the Pacific Island Heritage monument’s remaining 50-mile boundaries to 200 miles and to designate it as a sanctuary, similar to the initiatives taken concerning Papahānaumokuākea.
However, this expansion proposal was abandoned when Trump assumed office.
Maxx Phillips, the Center for Biological Diversity’s Hawai‘i and Pacific Island director, expressed in a statement on Thursday that the remote Pacific island areas facing potential commercial fishing are “not just dots on a map — they are lifeboats of biodiversity and cultural heritage.”
“This reckless decision trades ecological integrity for short-term industry gain,” Phillips remarked, “and will have lasting impacts on marine life already pushed to the brink.”
Supporters of the initiative to lift commercial fishing bans in marine protected areas argue that the restrictions are ineffective, claiming that tuna stocks and other large pelagic species do not remain contained within those protected zones.
However, a 2022 study led by the University of Hawaii, published in the journal Science, revealed that the commercial fishing bans in Papahānaumokuākea engendered a “spillover” effect, enhancing tuna populations and positively impacting nearby commercial fishing catch rates outside the monument.
The regional fishery council has strongly contested these findings.
Under Executive Director Simonds, the council has opposed nearly all commercial fishing restrictions imposed in the Pacific in recent decades, asserting they are unnecessary for the protection of migratory tuna and other fish stocks.
Furthermore, David Henkin, an attorney with the nonprofit environmental legal advocate Earthjustice, stated Thursday that Trump lacks the authority under the U.S. Antiquities Act to revoke the protections established by his predecessors.
According to Henkin, commercial fishers “can’t fish there now and they can’t fish there later unless Congress changes the law.”
He also confirmed Earthjustice’s readiness to challenge Trump’s order in a court of law.
image source from：https://www.civilbeat.org/2025/04/trump-lifts-commercial-fishing-ban-on-key-protected-area-in-central-pacific/
