On August 8, 2025, the federal district court in Honolulu ruled that destructive commercial fishing cannot legally continue in the Pacific Islands Heritage (PIH) Marine National Monument.
The court’s order cancels the National Marine Fisheries Service’s (NMFS) April 25 letter that gave a green light to commercial fishers to start operating once again in the portions of the monument that President Obama protected in 2014. NMFS issued the letter despite regulations prohibiting such fishing that remain on the books.
The order states that “no commercial fishing operators may reasonably rely on [the letter].” Commercial fishing in the waters between 50 and 200 nautical miles around Johnston Atoll, Jarvis Island, and Wake Island should cease immediately.
Read more about the ruling from our friends at Earthjustice, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of Kapaʻa, Conservation Council of Hawaiʻi and Center for Biodiversity.
“For over a decade, the pristine ecosystems of the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument have remained shielded from the destructive reach of commercial fishing,” says Sheila Sarhangi, director of the PIH Coalition. “In 2014, our Coalition—thousands strong, including cultural practitioners, scientists, government leaders, and conservation organizations—united to advocate for these protections, and articulated why this area must remain off-limits to extractive industries. Today’s ruling ensures that the Monument’s marine species, including endangered and threatened sharks, whales, turtles, and seabirds, can once again roam freely without the threat of becoming entangled or caught in fishing gear.”
The Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument is one of the last wild, healthy ocean ecosystems on the planet and is culturally significant to Indigenous Pacific Islanders.
President Trump’s proclamation in April attempted to illegally open the area to commercial fishing. Within three days of NMFS publishing a letter declaring that commercial fishing can continue, the Hawai‘i-based longline fleet began fishing inside Monument waters. With the judge’s order, the commercial fishing industry must keep their hooks out of the protected area once again.
Let’s keep the pressure on. Sign the petition to tell President Trump, the US Department of the Interior Secretary Burgum, and US Commerce Secretary Lutnick that the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument must remain protected.