With yet another executive order, President Trump opened vast stretches of the Pacific Islands’ Heritage Marine National Monument (PIHMNM) to commercial fishing and potentially to deep sea mining. First established in 2009 and expanded in 2014, it is one of the largest marine protected areas in the world, an abundance of unique and undisturbed wildlife, ranging from corals and clams to sharks, turtles, and dolphins living in a 1,282,534 square-kilometer (495,189 square-mile) stretch of the central Pacific Ocean. It encompasses seven islands and atolls: Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Island; Johnston, Wake, and Palmyra Atoll; and Kingman Reef.

On April 17, Trump issued an executive order removing the ban on commercial fishing, claiming that the lack of commercial fishing in the area “disadvantages honest United States commercial fishermen and is detrimental for United States territories.” Pacific nations in the area were not consulted. The news has been met with concern over the possible impacts on what is currently a well-preserved but nonetheless vulnerable ecosystem.

This brings up the long struggle for Āneen Kio (Wake Island) and continued colonialism in the Pacific. Āneen Kio, also called Enen Kieo, is the Marshallese name for Wake Island. Marshallese navigators braved the vast ocean to reach it, seeking wut keio and albatross bones for sacred tattooing. The orange in the Marshallese flag represents the wut keio and the bravery required to hold it. The RMI continues to contest U.S. claims to Wake Island/Āneen Kio. Today, the island remains fenced off, administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior and managed by the U.S. Air Force.

At President Heine’s town hall in Salem, Oregon last month, a man whose family holds the traditional land right to Aneen Kio asked about the RMI government efforts to contest U.S. claims to the atoll. President Heine and her office stated that the RMI government continues to seek to reclaim land and marine governance of Aneen Kio.

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IFL Science reported on the impact on ocean ecosystems in the Pacific:

https://www.iflscience.com/trump-administration-opens-up-pacific-islands-heritage-marine-national-monument-to-commercial-fishing-78884

Adam Keawe Manalo-Camp, Indigenous writer and researcher from Hawaii, posted on social media about this and continued colonialism in the Pacific: facebook.com/AdamKeaweM/posts/pfbid02iVtEMbqzxkngRWuqthYRguPmaQ3nmpxc91FvWZgsJumAzKVgjSHFNKTGw4e6BoxRl

For more information about the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument and habitat conservation, see information published by the NOAA Fisheries: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/pacific-islands/habitat-conservation/pacific-islands-heritage-marine-national-monument