Aug. 10 (UPI) -- A federal judge in Hawaii has outlawed commercial fishing in the Pacific Islands Heritage marine national monument, a protected and fragile ecosystem in the Pacific Ocean.
The action by judge Michael WJ Smith reverses a decision made by a branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that banned fishing in parts of the monument that was signed by President Barack Obama while he was in office.
Smith's ruling comes about a week after President Donald Trump signed a proclamation that reveres federal fishing regulations in the monument, a world heritage fund site that is home to marine mammals, seabirds and coral reefs.
Friday's court order by Smith means that commercial fishing cannot occur in waters 50 to 200 nautical miles around Johnson Atoll, Jarvis Island and Wake Island, and must stop immediately.
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