500,000 Square Miles of Protected Ocean, Opened Overnight
Three executive orders signed this week stripped commercial fishing protections from every U.S. marine national monument in the Pacific. Papahānaumokuākea, the Mariana Trench, Rose Atoll, and the Pacific Remote Islands together cover more than 500,000 square miles of ocean. They are home to more than 7,000 marine species, including 23 listed under the Endangered Species Act.
The monuments were created by presidents from both parties. George W. Bush designated Papahānaumokuākea in 2006 and expanded it in 2009. Obama established the Pacific Remote Islands expansion and the Mariana Trench monument. The protections were bipartisan for two decades.
A Federal Judge Already Blocked This
In August 2025, U.S. District Judge David Smith ruled that the president does not have authority to strip protections from a national monument under the Antiquities Act. The ruling applied to the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts monument off the New England coast.
The legal reasoning is straightforward. The Antiquities Act gives the president power to create monuments. It does not give the president power to shrink or abolish them. Only Congress can do that.
The Supreme Court has never ruled otherwise. Lower courts have consistently held that monument protections are a one-way ratchet.
The administration issued new executive orders anyway, applying the same legal theory the court already rejected.
The Fishing Industry Does Not Need Monument Waters
Commercial fishing fleets already operate across millions of square miles of open Pacific. Tuna catch limits in the Western and Central Pacific were hit before monument waters were off limits. Opening monument waters does not solve a supply problem. It removes the last protections for ecosystems that took millions of years to develop.
Papahānaumokuākea alone contains the world’s largest fully protected marine area. It shelters endangered Hawaiian monk seals, green sea turtles, and deep-sea coral reefs that scientists are still cataloging. The Mariana Trench reaches nearly 36,000 feet and contains species found nowhere else on Earth.
Commerce Secretary Broke a Promise
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told senators during his confirmation that he would consult with NOAA scientists before changing monument management plans. The executive orders were signed without any scientific review process. NOAA career staff were not consulted.
Earthjustice filed a challenge within 48 hours of the orders. The organization won the Northeast Canyons case and has signaled it will seek emergency relief on the Pacific monuments.
What You Can Do
- Call your senators at (202) 224-3121 and demand they oppose opening marine monuments to commercial exploitation. The Antiquities Act does not give the president this authority.
- Support the Antiquities Act Defense Act, which would codify the one-way ratchet into statute and remove any ambiguity about presidential monument authority.
- Use our letter below to tell your representative that marine monument protections must be restored. A court already ruled the rollback illegal once. Congress should make it permanent.