June 15, 2026 — President Donald Trump signed a proclamation Thursday reopening large portions of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument to commercial fishing.
The proclamation lifts restrictions that had prevented U.S. commercial fishing in waters surrounding several remote U.S.-controlled islands and atolls in the central Pacific, including Wake Island, Johnston Atoll, Jarvis Island, Howland Island, Baker Island, Kingman Reef, and Palmyra Atoll.
Among those celebrating the proclamation was Pacific Seafood CEO Frank Dulcich, who spoke during Thursday’s signing ceremony at the White House.
Dulcich, whose company was founded in Portland and has grown into one of North America’s largest vertically integrated seafood companies, said the policy change would have real-world impacts for employees, fishermen, and coastal economies in Oregon and across the West Coast.
“We have 3,000 families that work with us and 715 fishing families in Oregon, Washington, California, and Alaska that depend on what we catch, what we process, and what we grow,” Dulcich told Trump. “You’ve given us access to these family wage jobs and these coastal communities where we’re usually the number one or number two employer in those cities and counties.”
According to the White House, the action is intended to “restore American commercial fishing in the Pacific” by reducing what it describes as unnecessary regulations that have limited domestic fishermen while foreign fleets continue operating nearby.