The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council announced its intentions to allow U.S. fishermen to fish in U.S. Pacific Federally Managed Marine Protected Areas at its 206th meeting this week.
Read MoreDivers Saving Sharks
On April 17, President Trump issued an executive order would open large USA marine protected areas to commercial fishing in the Pacific. The order instructs the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to implement US-based fishing in the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument. The proclamation threatens endangered species, sharks, and some of the healthiest coral reefs and marine ecosystems in the world.Protected under federal law since 2009, the proclamation violates the Antiquities Act, the law used to create the Monument.
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