Commercial fishing may soon be allowed in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in Hawaii.

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council just voted to work with the National Marine Fisheries Service to develop an experimental fishing permit for the monument.

Lindsay Gardner, director of marine conservation for the National Wildlife Federation, said the council should keep existing protections in place.

"We don't believe that it's necessary or appropriate for commercial fishing to be done in previously protected, sensitive marine areas. It's simply not worth the risk of what we stand to lose," Gardner contended.

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The changes come in response to President Donald Trump’s executive orders on restoring American commercial fishing and seafood competitiveness, which assert the monument protections stifle economic opportunity and put American seafood at a price disadvantage. Data from the University of Hawaii show catch rates in fishing grounds just outside the monument increased significantly after it was created because the protections give the fish a safer place to multiply.

Jonnetta Peters, executive director of the Conservation Council for Hawaii, said about a quarter of the species in the monument are endemic, meaning they can only be found in these waters.

"Hawaii is the endemic species capital of the world. We're also the extinction capital of the world, so that's why it's really critical at this point to keep those protections intact," Peters emphasized.

The monument provides critical habitat for corals, fish, birds and marine mammals, including the endangered Hawaiian monk seal, the threatened green sea turtle and the endangered leatherback and hawksbill sea turtles.