President Donald Trump has demonstrated his love for the working man once again by taking action on June 11, 2026 to roll back Biden-era rules that prohibited commercial fishing within three of America’s marine national monuments located in the Pacific Ocean. The purpose of the move by the Trump administration is to give the U.S. fishing industry a boost while simultaneously lowering the cost of seafood for consumers.
During a ceremony held in the Oval Office and attended by professional fishermen, the president signed a proclamation that restored federally managed commercial fishing access to specific portions of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, located near the state of Hawaii; the Islands Unit of the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument off the coast of Guam; and the Rose Atoll Marine National Monument.
The proclamation expands commercial fishing to almost half a million square miles in the Pacific. The Trump administration’s action continues its mission to deregulate the area of business and commerce from environmental rules and regulations that were originally put in place by former President Joe Biden, who slapped restrictions on fishermen to create marine sanctuaries.
According to a report from USA Today, the president asked the fishermen who attended the ceremony, “When they destroyed your whole life and your family and your business, and everything else, did you ever think you would have somebody who would come along and save it?” In a viral video clip of the signing, one fishing representative gave the president a crew hat and told him he was “one of us.”
Another representative from North Carolina told President Trump that he has done more for fishermen and the industry than many in the past, referring to himself and his colleagues as “farmers of the sea” who help provide American families with healthy protein for their diets. He then expressed that he and others like him support the president and his action completely.
The country’s eight regional fishery management councils have raised concerns about prohibitions within the monuments, stating in a June 2025 letter addressed to President Trump that they are “counterproductive to domestic fishery goals.” The letter then said, “The removal of American fishing vessels from U.S. waters eliminates their ability to act as watchdogs over U.S. fishing grounds threatened by foreign fishing and other incursions.”
A summary of the proclamation released by the White House states that placing prohibitions on commercial fishing within the monuments is unnecessary for their proper care and management due to many fish species being highly migratory and not unique to those specific areas, noting they are already under the protection of other federal laws.
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“Prohibiting commercial fishing in this area also artificially restricts domestic fish supply, which makes the United States reliant on foreign sources for our food supply and increases the cost of seafood for everyday Americans,” the summary goes on to say.
Miriam Goldstein, executive director of the National Ocean Protection Coalition, is less than thrilled by the proclamation. “These marine monuments are the ocean’s equivalent of our national parks ‒ places that benefit marine life and cultural heritage and are too important to risk for short-term gain. When we treat protected areas as just another place for industrial activity, we risk undermining those benefits for future generations,” Goldstein said.
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video