By Gujari Singh in Washington
The Trump administration has issued a new executive order opening up vast swathes of protected ocean to commercial exploitation, including areas within the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument.
It allows commercial fishing in areas long considered off-limits due to their ecological significance — despite overwhelming scientific consensus that marine sanctuaries are essential for rebuilding fish stocks and maintaining ocean health.
These actions threaten some of the most sensitive and pristine marine ecosystems in the world.
Condeming the announcement, Greenpeace USA project lead on ocean sanctuaries Arlo Hemphill said: “Opening the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument to commercial fishing puts one of the most pristine ocean ecosystems on the planet at risk.
“Almost 90 percent of global marine fish stocks are fully exploited or overfished. The few places in the world ocean set aside as large, fully protected ocean sanctuaries serve as ‘fish banks’, allowing fish populations to recover, while protecting the habitats in which they thrive.
“President Bush and President Obama had the foresight to protect the natural resources of the Pacific for future generations, and Greenpeace USA condemns the actions of President Trump today to reverse that progress.”
President Trump signs executive order on Pacific fisheries Video: Hawai’i News Now
Slashed jobs at NOAA
A second executive order calls for deregulation of America’s fisheries under the guise of boosting seafood production.
Greenpeace USA oceans campaign director John Hocevar said: “If President Trump wants to increase US fisheries production and stabilise seafood markets, deregulation will have the opposite effect.
“Meanwhile, the Trump administration has already slashed jobs at NOAA [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] and is threatening to dismantle the agency responsible for providing the science that makes management of US fisheries possible.”
“Trump’s executive order on fishing could set the world back by decades, undoing all the progress that has been made to end overfishing and rebuild fish stocks and America’s fisheries.
“While there is far too little attention to bycatch and habitat destruction, NOAA’s record of fisheries management has made the US a world leader.
“Trump seems ready to throw that out the window with all the care of a toddler tossing his toys out of the crib.”
‘Slap in face to science’
Hawai’i News Now reports that a delegation from American Samoa, where the economy is dependent on fishing, had been lobbying the president for the change and joined him in the Oval Office for the signing.
Environmental groups are alarmed.
“Trump right here is giving a gift to the industrial fishing fleets. It’s a slap in the face to science,” said Maxx Phillips, an attorney for the Centre for Biological Diversity.
“To the ocean, to the generations of Pacific Islanders who fought long and hard to protect these sacred waters.”
Republished from Greenpeace USA with additional reporting by Hawai’i News Now.
The executive orders, announced on April 17, 2025, are detailed here:
- Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness
- Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Unleashes American Commercial Fishing in the Pacific
This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.