Mr. Trump issued an executive order opening up the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument, which lies some 750 miles west of Hawaii. President George W. Bush established the monument in 2009 and President Barack Obama expanded it in 2014 to its current area of nearly 500,000 square miles.

An executive order issued by President Trump opens the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument to fishing, asserting that U.S. environmental laws and regulation can adequately protect the islands’ marine ecosystem.

President Trump is opening commercial fishing in one of the world's largest ocean reserves, ending years of strict protection for a region rich in marine life. The executive order issued Thursday involves the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument,