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WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump on June 11 resumed commercial fishing within three of the United States’ marine national monuments in the Pacific Ocean, taking steps to roll back protections for areas considered pristine marine ecosystems.
The White House said the move, first reported by USA TODAY ahead of President Trump’s action, is aimed at boosting U.S. fishing industries and lowering seafood prices for consumers.
At an Oval Office ceremony attended by fishermen, President Trump signed a proclamation restoring federally managed commercial fishing access to portions of Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument (near Hawaii). Islands in the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument (off the coast of Guam). Rose Atoll Marine National Monument (American Samoa).
The declaration expands commercial fishing to approximately 500,000 square miles of the Pacific Ocean.
It continues President Trump’s deregulatory efforts to move away from environmental rules and regulations promoted by former President Joe Biden, who created marine sanctuaries and expanded protections for marine monuments.
“When they destroy your life, your family, your business, everything else, did you ever think someone would come and save it?” President Trump asked the fishing industry representatives in attendance.
Papahanaumokuakea, Mariana Trench and Rose Atoll are three of the nation’s five marine national monuments, a designation assigned because scientists recognize underwater areas as “some of the most effective tools for improving marine ecosystems and endangered fish stocks,” according to the National Parks Conservation Association, a nonprofit organization that advocates for environmental conservation.
But fisheries management councils from eight regions of the country expressed concerns about the ban on fishing within the monument, calling it “counterproductive to domestic fishing goals” in a letter to Trump in June 2025.
“Removal of U.S. fishing vessels from U.S. territorial waters eliminates the ability to monitor U.S. fishing grounds threatened by foreign fishing and other intrusions,” the letter said.
A White House summary of the declaration, seen by USA TODAY, says a ban on commercial fishing within the monument is “not necessary” for proper management and stewardship because many fish species are highly migratory, not native to the area, and are already protected by other federal laws.
“Prohibiting commercial fishing in this region would also artificially limit the domestic fish supply, making the United States dependent on foreign sources for food supplies and increasing the price of seafood for everyday Americans,” the summary states.
President Trump signed a similar proclamation in April 2025, restoring commercial fishing in the Pacific Remote Marine National Monument, which covers about 400,000 miles of the Pacific Ocean.
During his first term, President Trump lifted a ban on commercial fishing at Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Monument in New England, but Biden later reinstated a ban on commercial fishing within the monument. Immediately after winning his second term, Trump took executive action to repeal the ban in February 2025.
X Contact Joey Garrison at @joeygarrison.
