Defend Marine National Monuments in the Pacific
Surfrider is working to reinstate stronger protections for Pacific Marine National Monuments.
Surfrider is working with partners to defend Marine National Monuments from attacks by the Trump administration. Marine monuments help protect some of our nation's most outstanding ocean ecosystems. These include the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine Monument and the Papahānaumokuākea Marine Monument, which are both located in the Pacific Ocean.
Surfrider’s Hawai’i network has been a champion of these monuments for decades — supporting Papahānaumokuākea’s original designation under President Bush in 2006, its expansion under President Obama in 2016, and most recently advocating for the creation of a Papahānaumokuākea National Marine Sanctuary to add an additional layer of protection for the northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
Unfortunately, the Trump administration and members of congress have targeted Pacific marine monuments in a series of rollbacks.
Pacific Islands Heritage Marine Monument
On April 17, 2025, President Trump signed a proclamation opening the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine Monument to commercial fishing, reversing protections put in place by President Obama around Jarvis Island, Wake Island, and Johnston Atoll. That same day, President Trump signed an Executive Order directing a review of all existing marine national monuments to assess opening them to industrial fishing.
Following these actions, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) held a public comment period on the proposal that ended October 14, 2025. Surfrider conducted outreach to our supporters and partners and submitted comments to show support for marine monuments to keep these sensitive and treasured ocean places protected! In parallel, the proclamation was challenged in court. Earthjustice filed suit, arguing that the administration’s actions exceeded presidential authority under the Antiquities Act. In August 2025, a federal district court in Honolulu ruled that commercial fishing could not legally continue in the monument. As a result of these actions, current protections remain in place.
Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument, and Rose Atoll Marine National Monument
On June 11, 2026, President Trump signed a second proclamation targeting three more Pacific monuments: Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument, and Rose Atoll Marine National Monument. This move opens these areas to commercial fishing, stripping protections for roughly half a million square miles of pristine ocean habitat. This is part of a broader pattern of rollbacks — as the Trump administration has also weakened protections for the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument off New England.
Collectively, these actions undermine decades of bipartisan ocean conservation. The Antiquities Act of 1906 allows presidents to protect cultural, historical, and ecological resources by designating national monuments on land and sea. Since its enactment, 18 presidents (nine Democrats and nine Republicans) have used it to establish or expand more than 160 national monuments, including five marine monuments. These protections have consistently enjoyed broad public support.
Surfrider is working with coalition partners to assess options for ways to reinstate protections, and will continue our efforts to try to protect marine protected areas, including both national monuments and marine sanctuaries, from any further rollbacks. This ongoing work includes raising public awareness about the benefits of federal marine protected areas and urging members of congress to support and fund these designations. To learn more about these efforts, please visit our Defend Marine Protected Areas Campaign page.
We ask you to stand with us in defending the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine Monument, Papahānaumokuākea Monument, and all Pacific marine national monuments from industrial fishing and any other harmful extraction.
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