News that President Donald Trump signed an executive order allowing commercial fishing within the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument sent environmental advocates into a tailspin.
The monument encompasses nearly 500,000 square miles and includes Baker, Howland and Jarvis islands; Johnston, Wake and Palmyra atolls; and Kingman Reef. It was first established by President George W. Bush in 2009 and expanded by President Obama in 2014.
The Conversation spoke with Maxx Phillips, the Hawaiʻi and Pacific Islands director and staff attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, last Friday. She said the Trump administration's decision to roll back protections for the marine national monument threatens five species of threatened or endangered sea turtles, 22 species of protected marine mammals, and millions of seabirds.
Interview Highlights
On learning about the order
MAXX PHILLIPS: We didn't have any warning. We woke up yesterday and got the news as it was being signed, the same time that everybody else did. But unfortunately, there has long been pressure from the industrial, commercial fishing industry to open up all of our waters to this exploitative practice… It's unfortunate because it just feels like business as usual, and they want to tout it as food security, but this isn't about food security; it's about corporate gain. The commercial fleets pushing for this are not mom-and-pop fishers. They're not subsistence fishers. They are large industrial operations looking to exploit fragile ecosystems for short-term profits, and if we destroy spawning grounds, there will be no fish left to catch. Opening these waters risks collapsing fish populations that millions across the Pacific depend on for food and income.
On how the order affects the monument's function as a breeding ground
PHILLIPS: Scientific consensus is clear: Large-scale marine-protected areas work. It has clearly demonstrated in peer-reviewed research that these zones enhance fish stocks and surrounding areas through what's called a spillover effect, benefiting even nearby commercial fisheries. And so you don't gut a savings account and expect it to earn interest, right? These protected areas are like our marine bank accounts, and we're robbing future generations of the ecological interest that they would otherwise yield. It's really disturbing.
On possible legal recourse
PHILLIPS: Trump's move is illegal. Under the Antiquities Act, presidents can create national monuments, but they cannot revoke or significantly reduce them without congressional action, and we intend to challenge this executive order in court.
On whether there are any silver linings to the executive order
PHILLIPS: I just see a poorly thought-out illegal plan to pad industries' wallets at the expense of the species and Indigenous people of Oceania. Opening the monument to commercial longline exposes these species to increased risk of bycatch, entanglement, habitat loss and ecological collapse. And this time of global climate change, it's the wrong move at the worst possible time. As the Pacific faces sea level rise, coral bleaching, ocean acidification, we should be strengthening protections, not dismantling them. Marine monuments like this are part of climate resilience infrastructure, healthy, biodiverse ecosystems, sequester carbon, absorb storm impacts and help mitigate the effects of the climate crisis on coastal communities. Without them, we’re shooting blanks, and additionally, totally disregard for Indigenous stewardship and ancestral connections for these waters. They're not just ecologically significant. They hold ancestral, historical and spiritual meaning for the Indigenous people across Oceania. These are not empty spaces. They are storied places and alive with ancestral memory and responsibility, and the Pacific communities have called for stronger protections, not less.
On what people across the Pacific should know about the order
PHILLIPS: We will do everything in our power, legally, politically, and in solidarity with Indigenous and frontline communities across Oceania to defend these waters. The ocean has no voice in Washington, D.C., but guess what, Trump, we do, and we will not allow these lifeboats of biodiversity to be sacrificed to the industrial greed of a few. And for those at home listening, you know, your power is in what you spend your money on and what you support, and thinking that, 'Oh, because this is far away, it won't impact me here at home. ' It will. This is setting a very dangerous precedent, and if we don't all stand up and collectively say, 'ʻAʻole, Trump,' I don't know what could be next.
This interview aired on The Conversation on April 21, 2025. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m.
