December 26, 2025 — The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (WPRFMC) is continuing its push to restore commercial fishing in multiple marine national monuments, directing staff to analyze regulations and submit final recommendations ahead of the council’s March 2026 meeting.
“Pacific Island people are unfairly required to bear the burden of the country’s environmental guilt, and the monuments represent a large inequality in how our peoples are treated,” American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources Director and Council Member Nathan Ilaoa said in a release.