FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 22, 2025
Media Contact: PIHC@SpitfireStrategies.com
Lawsuit aims to protect one of the planet’s last wild, healthy ocean ecosystems and place of significance for Pacific Islanders
HONOLULU, HI – Today, Kāpaʻa, the Conservation Council for Hawai‘i, and the Center for Biological Diversity, represented by Earthjustice, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s proclamation that attempts to open the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument (formerly the Pacific Remote Islands) to industrial fishing.The Proclamation intends to open 50 to 200 nautical miles to harmful industrial fishing extraction. This is roughly 408,000 square miles of the monument — threatening to reverse more than a decade of progress that has reduced overfishing and exploitation of one of the planet’s last wild, healthy ocean ecosystems and a place of cultural significance for Pacific Islanders.
Research shows that large-scale marine protected areas like PIHMNM have spillover benefits that lead to increased catch rates for tuna fisheries. Specific to the area, a study published in Nature Communications shows that after the expansion of the Pacific Islands Heritage area, the Hawai‘i-based longline industry has been catching more fish, while the distance the fleet travels has remained unchanged.
What’s more, purse seiners have historically prioritized 95% of their fishing efforts in the high seas and non-US exclusive economic zones — which are outside of both protected and unprotected areas of the monument.
In response to news of the lawsuit, the Pacific Islands Heritage Coalition released the following statement:
“We stand behind our friends at Earthjustice as they align their legal resources with critical efforts to protect the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument (PIHMNM) from harmful industrial fishing extraction. At a time when we should be protecting more of our ocean from the effects of climate change and reckless commercial exploitation, this administration is moving in the wrong direction.
Opening up areas of the PIHMNM will not grant industrial fishers any additional fishing days or catch allowances and it will not address rising costs, like fuel and labor, that may be changing their profit margins. Simply put, the promise of economic benefit of this proclamation to fishers or communities is a false bill of goods.
The Pacific Islands Heritage Coalition will not stand down. Our network of Indigenous community leaders, fishers, scientists, and navigators have committed more than a decade to advocating for the protection of our ocean ecosystems. The Trump administration’s proclamation attempting to allow industrial fishing in the PIHMNM is not legal and we will continue this fight to protect the ocean that we all rely on.”