‘Unleashed’: Council opens Marianas Trench, three other Pacific marine sanctuaries to commercial fishing

Marianas Trench/Photo courtesy of NOAA

By Mar-Vic Cagurangan

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council moved to allow commercial fishing within four federally protected areas in the Pacific, following a presidential directive that a federal court struck down last month.

While President Donald Trump's April 17 proclamation, “Unleashing American Commercial Fishing in the Pacific," partially lifted the fishing ban in the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument, the council agreed to roll back restrictions within the boundaries of three other sanctuaries: the Marianas Trench, Rose Atoll and Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monuments.

The four marine monuments cover a total of over 1.1 million square miles of ocean.

Will Sword, the council’s chairman, said U.S. fishermen need to fish within the U.S. waters.

“The bottom line is eating our own fish,” Sword said during the council's long meeting on Sept. 16.

Trump's April 17 directive to free up the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument for commercial fishing was in response to American Samoa's call.

Previously called "Pacific Islands National Marine Monument," the Heritage is a source of marine stocks for American Samoa's fishing industry.

“In order to resume commercial fishing in the monuments, the council is following its process mandated under the Magnuson-Stevens Act and these recommendations will be sent to the Secretary of Commerce for review and approval,” said Amy Vandehey, education and outreach coordinator for the council.

“The next steps are to go through the council process of reviewing this analysis and selecting a preferred alternative to recommend to the National Marine Fisheries Service for implementation,” she added.

On Aug. 8, however,  Judge Micah Smith of the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii blocked Trump’s directive, arguing that opening a large swath of the Pacific Islands Heritage violated the Administrative Procedure Act by forgoing public comments or hearings.

While expressing disappointment in the court's decision, the council pointed out that the ruling did not permanently close the monument to fishing. The judge only vacated an April 25 letter issued by NMFS to permit holders outlining the proclamation’s provisions and its impact on current regulations, the council said.

“Under the Magnuson Stevens Act, the council and National Marine and Fishery Service are tasked with managing commercial fisheries and must consider the Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, National Environmental Policy Act and other federal laws,” the council said in a statement last week.

“These laws ensure healthy fish stocks while safeguarding protected species such as turtles and marine mammals and habitats like corals.”

Trump’s directive reversed former President George W. Bush’s January 2009 action, which established the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument and the Rose Atoll Marine National Monument in the Pacific, and the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument. The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument was created in June 2006

In 2017, then-President Barack Obama expanded the areas of coverage,

safeguarding their unique marine ecosystems, including coral reefs and deep-sea habitats, due to their scientific and ecological significance.

The council directed staff to prepare an analysis of management options to implement Trump's proclamation, ensuring "sustainable harvest of fishery resources while conserving protected species and monument resources."

“The council is responding to the proclamation through the council process of the Magnuson–Stevens Act. It is transparent and people have the opportunity to voice their opinions,” said Matt Ramsey, a council member representing Hawaii.

“If the council takes no action, others might make the decision for us. I appreciate the opportunity to shape and reform those commercial fishing regulations.”

During the public comment period, Joe Hamby, representing the U.S. purse seine industry, explained that the United States needs to do more to identify the origins of imported fish, especially from China, to buyers in local markets.

“U.S. consumers are unknowingly supporting the highly subsidized and forced-labor Chinese fish industry,” Hamby said.

Manuel Duenas, Guam Fishermen’s Cooperative Association, noted that “there are no commercial fishers" within the region.

“We are community-based fishers. The boats are owned by local families and fish for the benefit of the community,” he said.

The council noted strong opposition from members of academia, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Native Hawaiian Cultural Working Group, expressing concerns that commercial fishing would endanger protected species, ignore cultural values and harm the ecosystem. 

Kanoe Morishige, assistant professor at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies, said, “Papahānaumokuākea is not a realm for extraction,” and that “commercial extraction conflicts with what binds Hawaiians to the seascape.” 

Subscribe to

our digital

monthly edition