HONOLULU (23 April 2025) Recent media responses to President Trump’s April 17 Proclamation to restore access for American fishermen to the waters between 50 to 200 nautical miles (nm) offshore within the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument (PIHMNM) have raised questions and some confusion about its impact.

The change focuses on three islands—Wake, Johnston and Jarvis—where the President’s Proclamation will allow commercial fishing in the 50-200-nm zone around each of those islands. PIHMNM also includes four other island areas – Howland & Baker Islands; and Palmyra Atoll & Kingman Reef.

The Proclamation does not directly affect existing fishing restrictions protecting the waters surrounding the main Hawaiian Islands or the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

Commercial fishing remains prohibited within 0-50 nm of all seven islands and atolls within the PIHMNM. These nearshore areas include coral reef ecosystems and provide essential habitat for a variety of protected marine species. Green and hawksbill sea turtles, which primarily inhabit lagoons and reefs within these zones, remain protected. Similarly, seabirds, including the dense nesting colonies of red-footed boobies on Palmyra, continue to thrive in areas unaffected by the Proclamation.

The offshore (50-200 nm) waters reopened by the Proclamation are deep, open-ocean environments, ranging from 900 to more than 6,000 meters deep (0.5 – 3.7 miles).

Council Executive Director Kitty Simonds pointed out that “These areas are well beyond the reach of fishing gear or shallow reef-dependent species. U.S. fishing activities targeting migratory tunas occur near the surface (maximum 400 meters) using gear such as deep-set longlines, which do not contact the seafloor or sensitive habitats.”

Since the Monument’s establishment by President Bush on January 12, 2009, all waters within 0–50 nm of each island area have been closed to commercial fishing. This closure was later expanded under President Obama to include the current monument boundaries out to 200 nm.  President Trump’s action does not change the Bush monument boundaries.

The Council’s fisheries management framework under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act is among the most comprehensive and conservation-based in the world. It includes:

• A ban on destructive fishing methods like bottom trawls and drift gillnets since the 1980s
• Prohibitions on fishing in numerous protected areas established since the 1980s
• Vessel monitoring and observer coverage for longline fleets since the 1990s
• Bycatch mitigation regulations reducing sea turtle and seabird interactions by 70–90% in the 2000s

Scientific research supports adaptive, science-based fisheries management as a more effective way to sustain tuna stocks than static marine protected areas (MPAs).

• Research published by Gilman et al. in 2020 and Hilborn et al. in 2024 found no evidence of a “spillover effect” from static MPAs in PIHMNM and Papahānaumokuākea MNM, respectively.
• Studies on areas worldwide closed to fishing led by Hilborn et al., and Pons et al. in 2022 confirmed that static open-ocean closures do not effectively conserve highly mobile species such as tunas or reduce bycatch.
• A 2023 study by Hampton et al. found no conservation benefit for tropical tunas targeted by commercial fisheries from an MPA in a heavily fished area in nearby Kiribati—so closing a lightly fished area like the Pacific Remote Island Areas is unlikely to provide added benefit.

At its core, the Proclamation ensures that American fishermen—not foreign fleets—can responsibly access U.S. waters, while upholding the rigorous conservation standards that have defined U.S. fisheries for decades.

Since 2006, Presidents have used the Antiquities Act to establish five marine national monuments. Four of these monuments are in the Western Pacific Region, encompassing more than half of the U.S. exclusive economic zone surrounding Hawai‘i and the U.S. Pacific Territories and remote islands. Prior to this Proclamation, all monuments prohibited U.S. commercial fishermen from operating in these waters.

For more information, visit the Marine Spatial Management page on the Council website.

Links
United States Exclusive Economic Zones of the US Western Pacific Region map
History of Protected Species Conservation in US Western Pacific Fisheries
Protected Species Conservation Monograph
Milestones of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council

References
Gilman E, Chaloupka M, Fitchett M, Cantrell DL, Merrifield M. 2020. Ecological responses to blue water MPAs. PLoS ONE 15(7): e0235129. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0235129

Hampton J et al. 2023. Limited conservation efficacy of large-scale marine protected areas for Pacific skipjack and bigeye tunas. Frontiers in Marine Science 9:1060943. doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.1060943

Hilborn R et al. 2022. Area-based management of blue water fisheries: Current knowledge and research needs. Fish and Fisheries, 23(2), 492-518. doi.org/10.1111/faf.12629

Hilborn R, Fitchett M, Hampton J. 2024. When does spillover from marine protected areas indicate benefits to fish abundance and catch?. Theoretical Ecology 18, 1 (2025). doi.org/10.1007/s12080-024-00596-2

Pons M et al. 2022. Trade-offs between bycatch and target catches in static versus dynamic fishery closures. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 119(4): doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2114508119

Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council: Secretary of Commerce appointees from nominees selected by American Samoa, the CNMI, Guam and Hawai‘i governors: Will Sword, noncommercial fisherman/engineer (American Samoa) (chair); Roger Dang, Fresh Island Fish Co. (Hawai‘i) (vice chair); Judith Guthertz, University of Guam (Guam) (vice chair); Pete Itibus, noncommercial fisher (CNMI); Shaelene Kamaka‘ala, Hawaiian Islands Land Trust (Hawai‘i); Frank Perez, AC Sales and Service, (Guam); Matt Ramsey, Conservation International (Hawai‘i); and Gene Weaver, Tasi to Table (CNMI). Designated state officials: Dawn Chang, Hawai‘i Dept. of Land & Natural Resources; Sylvan Igisomar, CNMI Dept. of Lands & Natural Resources (vice chair); Chelsa Muña, Guam Dept. of Agriculture; and Archie Soliai, American Samoa Government (vice chair). Designated federal officials (voting): Sarah Malloy, NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Office. Designated federal officials (nonvoting): Colin Brinkman, U.S. State Dept.; Brian Peck, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service; and RADM Sean Regan, U.S. Coast Guard 14th District.