Trump's fishing order draws criticism in Pacific waters

Donald Trump's decision to allow commercial fishing in several protected Pacific waters has sparked significant backlash. The executive order targets areas within the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument near Hawaii, as well as monuments around American Samoa and the Mariana Islands.

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I was pretty disappointed, you know, that they decided to that.

Dr. Kekuewa Kikiloi from the University of Hawai'i expressed deep disappointment, viewing the proclamation as a disregard for the cultural and environmental significance of these protected zones. Papahānaumokuākea, a vast sanctuary of coral islands and reefs, holds deep cultural importance for the indigenous Kānaka Maoli, serving as sites for origin stories and spiritual journeys.

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They were places that were I guess, the sites of where our origin stories were started off, like the Kumulipo and the creation of earth and you know, it's a place from which our spirits return to after death.

Environmental concerns are paramount. The no-fishing zones, established in the early 2000s and expanded in 2016, have demonstrably helped restore fish populations, including tuna species. Studies show increased catch rates in nearby waters. Dr. Kikiloi warned that commercial fishing would disrupt an interconnected marine ecology, affecting not only fish but also avian species and the overall native ecosystem.

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When you make that assumption it sort of ignores the fact there is a like an interconnected ecology that's happening between the offshore, the near shore, avian bird species that fly throughout the area and rely on that... and so that whole world, native world of native animals and plants and all of that becomes affected.

He also criticized comments from American Samoa's congresswoman, Uifa'atali Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen, who supported the fishing order but deemed the Rose Atoll Marine Monument off-limits due to its "special significance." Dr. Kikiloi found this stance hurtful, viewing it as hypocritical for a Pacific Islander to advocate for fishing in others' ancestral waters while protecting her own.

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I find it really hurtful as a native of the Pacific - like she is for one of our neighbours and our cousins - to tell us what we should be doing in our place, in terms of opening it up to fishing, but she's not willing to do it in her place.