Trump Delivers Big New Economic Boost to Pacific Fishing Communities

On Thursday, President Trump delivered a significant win for America's commercial fishing industry, signing a proclamation that rolled back a bunch of Biden-era restrictions on commercial fishing in the Pacific. The proclamation is titled "Restoring American Commercial Fishing in the Pacific."

MASSIVE WIN FOR AMERICA'S FISHERMEN!

President Trump signed a proclamation restoring commercial fishing access to over half a million square miles in the Pacific - revitalizing the industry, cutting regulations, lowering costs, & putting American seafood producers FIRST.🇺🇸🐟 pic.twitter.com/GQ5Ub33Vvk
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 11, 2026

The official proclamation, which is available here, reads in part:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including section 320301 of title 54, United States Code, hereby proclaim that Proclamations 8031, 8335, 8337, and 9478 are modified to remove certain monument-based prohibitions on commercial fishing in: (a) the Islands Unit of the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument; (b) the Mau Zone and Ho’omalu Zone and areas seaward of 50 nautical miles within the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument; and (c) waters between 12 and 50 nautical miles surrounding Rose Atoll, consistent with applicable fishery management plans and implementing regulations. Only United States flagged vessels shall be allowed to fish commercially within the boundaries of these monuments, except that permits may be issued to foreign flagged vessels to transport fish harvested by United States fishermen.
Nothing in this proclamation alters existing restrictions applicable within 50 nautical miles of the center geographical positions of certain islands and reefs in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands or within 12 nautical miles of Rose Atoll. Such restrictions may be modified pursuant to applicable statutory and regulatory processes.

There are a couple of key points to note here.

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First, note that the proclamation only allows US-flagged vessels to fish in these areas, although it does allow non-US-flagged ships to carry the catch to processing. That's almost certainly aimed at China, which has been encroaching on fishing waters historically claimed by Pacific nations ranging from Japan to the Philippines. Whether or not the Coast Guard or U.S. Navy vessels will be dispatched to enforce this, is not clear.

Second, this proclamation is opening up waters that have been closed to commercial fishing, in some cases, for a decade or more. Presumably the harvest will be monitored and limits imposed as necessary to maintain the stock, but for the time being these may be some fertile fishing grounds.

During the Oval Office signing of the new proclamation, the president had some kind words for America's fishermen:

.@POTUS: "It’s my honor to be taking this action to lower seafood costs and generate millions and millions of dollars in new business for our really great fishermen by restoring commercial access to three areas of the Western Pacific Ocean." pic.twitter.com/z7azxkgjcE
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) June 11, 2026

The president said:

So it's my honor to be taking this action to lower seafood costs and generate millions and millions of dollars in new business for our great, really, great fishermen. Great people. By restoring commercial access to three areas of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is a large amount of space we are talking about that they were restricted. Other countries would use but our country couldn't. You ever hear anything so stupid?

Keep an eye on those prices for Pacific cod and so forth. We may be seeing a break. And no, we're not tired of winning yet.

Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and bold policies, America’s economy is back on track.

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