August 11, 2025 — A Hawaii judge vacated an agency letter on Friday that allowed commercial fishing in a Pacific Ocean monument following a proclamation from President Donald Trump that walked back Obama-era environmental protections.
U.S. District Court Judge Micah Smith, a Joe Biden appointee, ruled that the letter — issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service — violated the Magnuson-Stevens Act and Administrative Procedure Act when it opened up protected water of the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument.
Environmentalists had claimed that the government didn’t engage in any notification or comment process before issuing the letter on April 25, a week after Trump’s proclamation.
“Whether plaintiffs are right to contend that they are entitled to participate in a notice and comment procedure — the government has chosen to concede that they are,” Smith wrote, noting the government had opted not to argue the letter was an interpretive rule instead of a legislative one.