April 14, 2024 — A proposed national marine sanctuary is on pace to take shape in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands by early 2025, and supporters hope that timeline will make it harder to roll back the environmental protections there if former President Donald Trump retakes office next year.
Federal fisheries officials are gathering public comment at meetings across Hawaii for the proposed Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Sanctuary, which would have the same boundaries as the existing national monument that covers a vast ocean area. Unlike the monument, the sanctuary would not include the islands, only the water.
Once the public comment period ends, in early May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will prepare the final documents to designate the new sanctuary. NOAA expects to have those documents completed this winter, according to the agency’s timeline.
The monument is already one of the largest so-called marine protected areas on the planet, prohibiting commercial fishing, oil drilling and other impacts within a more than 582,000-square-mile area.
However, in 2017 Papahanaumokuakea was among the more than two dozen national monuments that came under review during the Trump administration to be potentially shrunk, changed or even eliminated altogether.
Ultimately, Papahanaumokuakea did not see any changes under Trump.