June 22, 2026 — President Donald Trump’s proclamation this month restoring commercial fishing in Pacific marine national monuments, including the Islands Unit of the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument, has drawn measured but watchful responses from Guam officials and island legislators, who say the move is neither the windfall nor the threat it might appear.
Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero said the question of balancing natural preservation with food security and the right of a people to live off the ocean as their ancestors did is complex, and that no one should represent the views of an entire people without meaningful community discussion and study.
“Yes, our political status may give the federal government the power to make these decisions without consulting us, but having the power to do it that way doesn’t mean it should be done,” Leon Guerrero told The Guam Daily Post. “The ocean knows no political boundaries and just as preservation efforts can help protect reefs and fish stock far beyond an area outlined on a map, activities such as overfishing or deep-sea mining or others can have impacts beyond those same political boundaries.”
The administration said it remains informed and involved through its participation in the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, known as the Westpac Council, and is still working through the implications of the proclamation, including whether it reverts to prior regulations that may have limited entry permits for specific fisheries.