Cheers to a federal district court for striking down the free pass given to commercial fishers in the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument in Hawaii by the Administration in April.

It was another horrible example of the Administration threatening to destroy a unique and fragile web of life because it is wedded to commercial interests.

The Administration’s April 17 proclamation stripped vital protections that President Obama put in place in 2014, when he expanded the monument’s boundaries to include the waters from 50 to 200 nautical miles around Jarvis Island, Wake Island and Johnston Atoll, banning commercial fishing in those waters. On April 25, the National Marine Fisheries Service sent a letter to fishing permit holders giving them a green light to fish commercially within the monument’s boundaries despite the longstanding fishing ban.

Environmental groups who filed a lawsuit against NMFS pointed out that commercial fishing would remove large numbers of fish, sharks, turtles and other marine life as both intended catch and unintended by-catch. It would have completely disrupted the underwater ecosystem and wreak havoc on the food chain.

The monument’s status allows its waters to be a haven for a vast range of marine wildlife including five species of threatened or endangered sea turtles, like the leatherback, that use these waters to feed and migrate. The waters are habitat for 22 species of protected and marine mammals, and several million seabirds congregate around or nest in the monument.

The court’s order—declares unlawful and cancels the NMFS letter and states that “no commercial fishing operators may reasonably rely on [the letter].” Commercial fishing in the waters between 50 and 200 nautical miles around Johnston Atoll, Jarvis Island and Wake Island should cease immediately.

That is music to our ears!

The Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument (formerly known as the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument) was established by President George W. Bush in 2009 and expanded by President Obama in 2014. The monument’s protections secure these major reservoirs of biodiversity and their populations, improving their resiliency against climate change. Deep water coral reefs, seamounts, guyots, and submerged reefs and banks also find protection within the monument boundaries. Many of these habitats are understudied, and there are likely others yet to be discovered.