Kydd Pollock | The Nature Conservancy
Stop Trump from Opening the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine Reserve to Industrial Fishing
President Trump issued an executive order on April 17, attempting to open the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument (formerly the Pacific Remote Islands) to industrial fishing. The order seeks to remove protections in the area between 50 and 200 nautical miles, opening up 408,000 square miles of the monument to harmful commercial extraction — threatening to reverse decades of progress to safeguard one of the planet’s last wild, healthy ocean ecosystems.
In response, on April 25, 2025, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) sent a letter to commercial fishing permit holders “authorizing” them to fish in the monument. On August 8, 2025, a federal district court in Honolulu declared that the NMFS letter was unlawful, stating that “no commercial fishing operators may reasonably rely on [the letter],” and that commercial fishing to cease immediately in the waters between 50 and 200 nautical miles around Johnston Atoll, Jarvis Island, and Wake Island. Read Earthjustice’s press release.
Despite the court’s decision, NMFS may now be preparing draft rules to open the PIHMNM to commercial fishing. In response, the Pacific Islands Heritage Coalition submitted a formal letter the leadership of NOAA outlining why NMFS should hold off on moving forward with any such proposed rulemaking until WESPAC and the agency fully complies with all applicable statutory, regulatory, and procedural requirements under federal law, including by providing robust and meaningful opportunities for public participation. Read the PIH Coalition’s letter here.
In March 2026, a federal fishery council (WESPAC) voted to open all four Pacific Marine National Monuments to commercial fishing: Pacific Islands Heritage, Papahānaumokuākea, Mariana Trench, and Muliava (Rose Atoll). Then, on June 11, 2026, President Trump issued a proclamation seeking to open portions of the remaining three Pacific Marine National Monuments to commercial fishing — a move that attempts to roll back protections for nearly half a million square miles of protected ocean in the Pacific. Any proposed changes affecting these protected areas must still comply with all applicable federal laws, public processes, and regulatory requirements.
Sign the petition to protect the Pacific Islands Heritage and Papahānamokuākea.
Why This Matters
The Pacific Islands Heritage Maine National Monument supports threatened and endangered wildlife and some of the richest biodiversity on Earth:
- Whales, sharks and rays
- Five species of sea turtles
- 5,000-year-old coral systems
- Seabirds and nesting grounds
- 130+ undersea mountains
- Deep-sea life not found anywhere else on Earth
- Waterways of ancient and modern Indigenous voyagers
Industrial fishing methods can catch and entangle defenseless marine wildlife–including endangered whales, dolphins, sea turtles, sharks, and seabirds–and cause harm to fragile corals. Commercial fishing also removes large numbers of fish and top predators, which disrupts precious ecosystems and ecological food webs.
The monument has a history of bipartisan support. George W. Bush established the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument in 2009 to protect the marine habitats of seven islands or atolls: Wake, Jarvis, Howland and Baker Islands, Johnston Atoll, and Kingman Reef and Palmyra Atoll. The monument was expanded by President Obama in 2014 to a total of approximately 495,189 square miles.
Presidents have the authority to designate national monuments under the Antiquities Act, not to modify or abolish them. Presidents from both parties have designated a total of 168 national monuments under the Antiquities Act.
The Pacific Islands Heritage is significant for Indigenous Pacific Islanders with ancestral, historical, and cultural ties to the area. The islands and atolls served as stopping points for rest, sustenance, and cultural practice for generations of voyagers who used the stars, winds, currents, and land and sea life to navigate these waters. They are integral to the cross-cultural Indigenous Pacific voyaging legacy. The area is under U.S. jurisdiction today because of the bravery and sacrifices of 135 mostly Native Hawaiian young men, part of the once-secret group called the Hui Panalāʻau, who were sent by the federal government on a quiet operation from 1935-1942 to occupy the Line islands of Howland, Baker, and Jarvis.
Senator Brian Schatz Statement
Read the Senator’s statement condemning the executive order attempting to gut protections for the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument.
“We should be protecting the Pacific’s unmatched ecology and biodiversity for future generations – this order does the opposite.” – Senator Brian Schatz