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The Trump administration has reopened three more marine national monument areas to commercial fishing, reversing previous administrations' decisions to protect 500,000 square miles of the U.S. exclusive economic zone. Areas affected include parts of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, Mariana Trench Marine National Monument, and Rose Atoll Marine National Monument; the decision would provide the Hawai'i-based longline fleet with additional opportunities for fishing, and would reintroduce the impact of bycatch on sharks and other species in the protected areas.
The areas in question were protected during the George W. Bush and Obama administrations, and some date as far back as 2006. In a proclamation, President Donald Trump asserted that "commercial fishing under existing statutory authorities will not put the historic and scientific objects within these areas at risk."
The additional longline bycatch in these areas if fishing were resumed would remove thousands of sharks per year from the ecosystem, according to the National Ocean Protection Coalition.
The White House's previous attempts to roll back marine protected areas have met with opposition. In August 2025, a federal court invalidated NOAA Fisheries' attempt to green-light fishing in certain areas of the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument that had previously been closed by the Obama administration. "No commercial fishing operators may reasonably rely on" an authorization letter from NOAA Fisheries for operations from 50-200 nautical miles around Johnston Atoll, Jarvis Island, and Wake Island, the judge ruled.
Environmental groups are also suing to block the administration from rolling back protections at the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, arguing that the president does not have the power to reverse the monument designations issued by previous administrations. The White House issued a proclamation in February removing fishing restrictions from the 4,900-square-mile protected area.
Fuente: Maritime Executive
