National Fisherman

President Trump signed an executive order reopening some U.S. western Pacific waters to commercial fishing within several marine national monuments. The Western Pacific council recommended the move in March. NOAA says previous restrictions forced American fishermen into international waters to compete against poorly regulated foreign fleets.

Trump moves to reopen Pacific remote waters for fishing A June 11 executive order by President Trump will open some fishing grounds in the U.S. western Pacific, the latest in years of restricting and then reopening national marine monument waters during the Obama, Biden and Trump administrations.

Sens. Merkley and Wicker have introduced a bill to expand NOAA's authority to sanction nations acting as flags of convenience for IUU fishing vessels. Up to 32% of U.S. wild-caught seafood imports are products of IUU fishing. The U.S. imported $25 billion in seafood in 2024, with over 94% of consumption coming from foreign sources.

New legislation would tackle foreign flags of convenience New legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate would identify and sanction nations accountable for weak supervision of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fisheries crimes at sea.