Earthjustice filed a lawsuit this month to block President Trump from allowing commercial fishing in the Pacific Island Heritage Marine Reserve.
We heard the take from the Western Pacific Fisheries Council and their concern for the future of the last remaining cannery in American Samoa.
Today, we hear more about the science and arguments for not relaxing the protections in that area of the Pacific from Bob Richmond, a coral scientist and the head of the University of Hawaiʻi Kewalo Marine Laboratory.
He has worked in Guam, Samoa, Palau and Hawaiʻi for nearly five decades, and unpacked the science behind protecting the reserve area for the future.
“For the fisheries that are targeted in this discussion of the marine monuments, these are, in fact, what are called pelagics, meaning open ocean, free-moving fish, and so for that reason, we look at the ocean as a shared resource,” Richmond said.
He said a strong consensus among scientists is that about 30% of the ocean needs to be set aside as protected areas to "leave a vital legacy for future generations." He said the world is currently at less than 3%.
Richmond said marine protected areas are designed to protect populations of fish at a density where spawning is successful.
“It's a bank account for today, but most importantly, it's an investment in a bank account for the future,” he explained. “Look at the fish as your principal. These are the things that produce interest, which is their reproduction, that's their offspring."
He said University of Hawaiʻi data found that when Papahānaumokuākea was set aside as the expanded marine protected area under President Obama, from the 50 miles to the full 200 miles, the move created a spillover effect: more fish at the edge of the area.
He also acknowledged the economic hardships among the American Samoa fishing community. Richmond said that the decision to close down tuna canneries had nothing to do with the Pacific Island Heritage Marine Reserve.
"It had everything to do with the economics of fishing and catch, and it's cheaper to process them elsewhere," he said. “We know very clearly that it's not a matter of if that third cannery is going to close, it's a matter of when."
He said the goal is to try to work with the people of American Samoa to provide sustainable alternatives.
"It's not appropriate for me to go to any island to tell people what they should or shouldn't do... But what I can do is to provide science support and, most importantly, training," he said.
"I understand my role is not to make decisions, it's to inform the decision-making process. So my responsibility is to provide data that are accurate and adequate."
Richmond plans to attend the United Nations Ocean Conference in June to discuss ocean health, human health, and pollution alongside Indigenous practitioners, communicators and other scientists.
He said they share the same goal of ensuring a legacy for the future.
“I say that, not just as a scientist, but as a parent, it would be irresponsible for me and my colleagues to watch this go on and not to do everything we possibly could, to share information, to work strategically with partners,” Richmond told HPR.
This interview aired on The Conversation on May 30, 2025. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Hannah Kaʻiulani Coburn and Sophia McCullough adapted this story for the web.
