June 15, 2026 — The following was released by the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration:
Today, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Office of Advocacy (Advocacy) applauded President Donald J. Trump for restoring U.S. commercial fishing access in three Pacific marine national monuments covering nearly half a million square miles — a major win for small, family-owned fishing businesses and the coastal communities they support. By lifting blanket bans that kept American boats out of these productive waters, the President’s action reopens critical fishing grounds to U.S.-flagged vessels, strengthens America’s seafood supply, and helps U.S. fishermen compete on a more level playing field with foreign fleets, consistent with his April 2025 Executive Order on Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness.
“For years, Washington bureaucrats told American fishermen to tie up their boats while foreign fleets filled their nets with fish off our Pacific coast,” said SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler. “By restoring commercial access to these fishing grounds, President Trump is putting America’s fishermen first, strengthening our domestic seafood supply chain, and helping lower grocery costs for American families — while restoring the ability of small, family-owned businesses to grow, invest, and hire thanks to the President’s America First Fishing Policy.”
“The majority of American fishermen are small businesses, and the fishing industry is one of the most heavily regulated sectors of the economy,” said Advocacy Acting Chief Counsel Everett M. Woodel, Jr. “President Trump’s actions demonstrate his unwavering commitment to cutting regulatory red tape for the U.S. seafood industry.”
Yesterday’s proclamation is one of several steps the President and the Department of Commerce are taking under Executive Order 14276, which directs agencies to reconsider regulations that overly burden America’s commercial fishing, aquaculture, and fish processing industries. Earlier this year, the President also helped fishermen on the Atlantic coast by reopening the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Monument to commercial fishing, reversing Biden- and Obama-era designations that crushed local industries.
Marine national monuments are areas of the ocean where fishermen are prevented from catching fish. When wide swaths of the nation’s waters are declared off-limits to fishing, it has significant impacts on small businesses not only in the fishing industry, but also those that are supported by the fishing industry.
Earlier this year, Advocacy placed burdensome marine national monument and sanctuary designations on its “Small Businesses’ Most Wanted Reform” list, highlighting the heavy burdens these closures impose on small fishing enterprises. Commercial fishermen have participated in Advocacy roundtables and met with regional staff to explain how monument closures have limited their ability to earn a living, supply American seafood, and support crew jobs and local economies — especially in communities where fishing is the backbone of Main Street.
SBA and the Office of Advocacy will continue working on behalf of President Trump to restore American seafood competitiveness, ensure small fishing businesses have a strong voice in federal policymaking, and connect fishermen and shoreside small businesses with the capital they need to expand operations, upgrade vessels and equipment, and bring more American-caught seafood to market.