OHA, Native Hawaiian activists speak out against renewed fishing at national marine sanctuary

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has opposed efforts to renew commercial fishing in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

On Friday, OHA, along with the Native Hawaiian Cultural Working Group (NHCWG), spoke out against a renewed push to open Papahānaumokuākea National Marine Sanctuary to commercial fishing.

“This is a pu‘uhonua (sanctuary) that allows our people to revitalize practices like navigation that depend on healthy ecosystems and helps fish populations recover, which benefits all Hawaiʻi nei,” said OHA board chair Kaialiʻi Kahele. “Our marine monuments are fulfilling their purpose – there is no need to alter what is already working.”

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the sanctuary encompasses over 582,000 square miles of the Pacific Ocean and is home to a variety of marine life.

This comes after the Western Pacific Regional Fishing Management Council met and reaffirmed its position to allow commercial fishing in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands.

OHA said scientific research, along with historic traditions, supports the protection of the marine sanctuary to preserve the sacredness of the region and the vitality of marine species and cultural practices.

“Commercial extraction and locust-like behavior creating unbalance in the world is not Hawaiian,” said NHCWG member Pelika Andrade. “The protections of Papahānaumokuākea are only necessary because of how industries, like commercial fishing, have depleted our oceans.”

Andrade said their “ultimate goal, as Native Hawaiians, is ʻāina momona (fertile or rich land), and what the council is proposing does not align with that.”

In April, President Trump signed an executive order to allow fishing in the Pacific Islands Heritage National Monument south of Hawaii.

The council said it will now recommend that President Trump also open the northwestern islands, where fish stocks are sustainable.

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