On June 11, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive proclamation to open additional commercial fishing grounds in remote areas of the Pacific. The proclamation says restoring access to these areas “will promote economic opportunity.” However, local groups warn it will open the door to overfishing in a crucial marine habitat and sacred cultural site. The proclamation, “Restoring American Commercial Fishing in the Pacific,” comes a year after a similar proclamation in April 2025 that opened up commercial fishing in the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument (PIH). Formerly the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, the PIH covers nearly 1.3 million square kilometers (500,000 square miles) of Pacific Ocean. The June 2026 proclamation includes portions of three additional marine national monuments — Rose Atoll, Mariana Trench, and Papahānaumokuākea —  which together include nearly 1.8 million km2 (690,000 mi2) of coral atolls, deep-sea trenches and remote islands. Image courtesy of NOAA Fisheries The new proclamation would roll back protections for roughly 1.3 million km2 (500,000 mi2) of the area to allow industrial fishing. Such commercial fishing could include kilometers of baited hooks, known as long lines, and purse seine nets more than 2,000 meters (6,600 feet) long. Both types of fishing gear are highly effective at catching tuna, the target species, as well as other marine life as bycatch. Conservationists say opening the Pacific monuments to industrial fishing is a significant concern for many species in the area, including threatened sea turtles, whales, dolphins, seabirds, sharks and fish; many are endemic, found…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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