Trump admin sued for removing marine protections
Share this @internewscast.com

Left: President Donald Trump addresses an audience at a Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission Event held in the East Room of the White House on Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Right: Corals and Sponges in Monument Expansion near Jarvis Island (NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research)

Environmental advocacy groups have initiated a lawsuit against the Trump administration due to an executive order that reduces protections for Pacific Ocean marine ecosystems.

The Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument was created in 2009 by former President George W. Bush during his last days in office. Five years later, former President Barack Obama enhanced the monument’s protections. Nonetheless, a proclamation in April by President Donald Trump diminished the 2014 protections to boost U.S. commercial fishing activities in the central Pacific Ocean.

Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.

The Conservation Council for Hawaii, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Kapaʻa, an “unincorporated association of Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners,” are seeking to stop the president from having his way.

“President Trump’s proclamation threatens to destroy one of the world’s last healthy and wild ocean ecosystems,” Jonee Peters of the Conservation Council for Hawaii said. “Many of these creatures and areas are culturally important to the people of Oceania, for traditional and modern navigation, and as a valuable food source.”

The plaintiffs argue Trump’s order and subsequent actions taken by federal departments including the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service are illegal and would decimate the marine resources in the aquatic region.

Following Trump’s directive, the National Marine Fisheries Service announced that commercial fishing in the region limited to areas outlined by Obama was “no longer prohibited.”

Bush’s 2009 proclamation safeguarded the areas within 50 nautical miles of Wake, Baker, Howland, and Jarvis islands, Johnston and Palmyra atolls, and Kingman Reef “for the care and management of the historic and scientific objects therein.” Obama’s 2014 action expanded the protections to 200 nautical miles around Jarvis Island, Wake Island and Johnston Atoll.

2009 Monument Creation and 2014 Monument Expansion

2009 Monument Creation and 2014 Monument Expansion

(Credit: National Geographic)

The lawsuit filed on Thursday argues the monument expansion “provides vital habitat and foraging areas” for tuna, turtles, sharks, seals, seabirds, and additional species designated as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The groups also point to the scientific importance of the waters and how they “provide a baseline comparison” for research that “monitors and evaluates impacts of global climate change, including benchmarking coral bleaching and ocean acidification.”

The plaintiffs are seeking injunctive relief to stop Trump administration officials from carrying out actions that go against the 2014 order, and they want the U.S. District Court in the District of Hawaii to rule that Trump “exceed[ed] his authority” under the Antiquities Act of 1906, which “provide[s] general legal protection of cultural and natural resources of historic or scientific interest on federal lands.”

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like

Kidnapping Victim Escapes After Captor Falls Asleep and Makes Her Drive

Police in Pennsylvania are looking for a man accused of kidnapping a…

An 11-Year-Old Autistic Boy Disappears; Blood Found at Home and Mother Hospitalized

The search continues for an 11-year-old New York boy who has not…

Police: Father Accused of Breaking Newborn Son’s Legs and Ribs in Rage

Inset: William Page (Outagamie County Jail). Background: The street in Wisconsin where…

Home Health Aide and Partner Charged with Misuse of Disabled Client’s Credit Card

Staff report GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Malaysia Uynalyse Rushing, age 23, and Jeffrey…

Fani Willis Agrees to Testify Under Oath Regarding Trump

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis arrives during a hearing on the…

Latest Update: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ Federal Prostitution Case Moves to Sentencing Stage

On Friday, a New York federal judge will sentence Sean “Diddy” Combs…

Man Kills Young Teen Over Fears He Had Knowledge

Inset: Jaheym Cheeks (Office of the Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney). Background: The…

Man Fatally Attacks Elderly Neighbor with Hammer

Inset top: Rena Eves (Obituary). Inset bottom: Jonathan Melendez (Jefferson County District…

Man Accused of Ramming Unmarked Police Car and Threatening Officers with Knife

A man has been charged after he allegedly rammed a police car…

DOJ Challenges Relief for Pardoned January 6th Rioter

Inset: Thomas Webster getting ready to strike a police officer with a…

First Woman from Tennessee to Be Executed in Over Two Centuries

Christa Gail Pike (Image courtesy Pike’s legal team). The Tennessee Supreme Court…

Did Anna Delvey Criticize Her Own Appearance?

Fake German heiress Anna Sorokin conned her way into Manhattan society. Under…