In a major win for environmental protection, a federal district court in Honolulu has ruled that commercial fishing cannot legally continue in the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument, located south and southwest of the Hawaiian Islands.
“The court acknowledged the importance of giving due consideration to the voices of our kūpuna in these challenging times. The Fisheries Service cannot ignore our perspectives as the native people who belong to the islands and to the ocean that surrounds us. The law guarantees a process where we can advocate for protecting the generations of our children’s children who are yet to be born,” said Solomon Pili Kaho’ohalahala, Founding Member of Kāpaʻa.
On Friday evening, the court declared unlawful and vacated an April 25th letter from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) that attempted to authorize commercial fishing in portions of the monument. The court made it clear that “no commercial fishing operators may reasonably rely on the letter.”
The decision means commercial fishing must immediately cease in waters between 50 and 200 nautical miles around Johnston Atoll, Jarvis Island, and Wake Island, areas critical to marine biodiversity.
Earthjustice, which represented Kāpa‘a, the Conservation Council for Hawaii, and the Center for Biological Diversity, argued that NMFS failed to follow proper legal procedures under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which requires public notice and an opportunity for comment before any fishing regulations are changed.
The April 25th letter was issued despite existing regulations that have long prohibited commercial fishing in the monument. It came in direct response to an April 17th proclamation from President Trump attempting to reverse the fishing ban, a move plaintiffs say is unconstitutional because it oversteps Congress’s authority over federal lands and waters.
This ruling is a crucial reminder of why it’s essential to protect our oceans from exploitation. Marine national monuments safeguard fragile ecosystems and endangered species. Weakening these protections puts marine life and our oceans at risk.
The court will hold a scheduling conference on October 6th to determine the next steps in resolving the constitutional challenge to Trump’s proclamation.
