United States Minor Outlying Islands
Oceania · Micronesia
There is nowhere in the United States Minor Outlying Islands where recreational spearfishing is lawful. The territory is nine uninhabited islands, atolls and reefs — Baker, Howland and Jarvis Islands, Johnston, Midway and Palmyra Atolls, Kingman Reef, Wake Island in the Pacific and Navassa Island in the Caribbean — and every one of them is a National Wildlife Refuge that is closed to the public, entry being possible only under a Special Use Permit (Midway is closed to visitation altogether; Wake and Johnston are additionally administered by the Department of Defense). Two independent federal regimes then close the fishery. Refuge law prohibits taking any animal on a refuge (50 CFR 27.21) and no refuge in these islands appears in the national list of units opened to sport fishing (50 CFR 32.7, whose last entry is Guam). Monument law prohibits non-commercial fishing throughout the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument (formerly the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument) except under a NOAA permit, and prohibits it outright within 12 nautical miles of emergent land unless the Fish and Wildlife Service authorises it (50 CFR 665.933(b), 665.934(d)). Midway sits inside Papahanaumokuakea instead, where taking any monument resource is prohibited and swimming, snorkelling and diving are themselves banned within 12 nautical miles of the atoll (50 CFR 404.7). The 2025-2026 proclamations that reopened these monuments to fishing (10918 and 11035) removed monument-based prohibitions on COMMERCIAL fishing only; the non-commercial prohibitions in 50 CFR 665.933-665.934 and 15 CFR 922.244 remain unamended and in force (eCFR current as of 18 August 2026). The only fishing a private visitor can obtain anywhere in the territory is permitted catch-and-release bone-fishing at Palmyra Atoll under the supervision of an approved resource monitor — no take, and no speargun.
Dernière mise à jour août 20, 2026
Cadre réglementaire
- §Antiquities Act, 54 U.S.C. 320301
- §Proclamation 8336 of 6 January 2009 (Establishment of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument; retitled Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument by Proclamation 10880 of 2 January 2025)
- §Proclamation 9173 of 25 September 2014 (Monument Expansion)
- §Proclamation 10918 of 17 April 2025 (Unleashing American Commercial Fishing in the Pacific)
- §Proclamation 11035 of 11 June 2026 (Restoring American Commercial Fishing in the Pacific)
- §Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
- §50 CFR part 665 subpart G (Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument fishing regulations), 665.930-665.936
- §National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966, 16 U.S.C. 668dd-668ee
- §50 CFR subchapter C, parts 25-32 (National Wildlife Refuge System: 26.21 trespass, 27.21 prohibited take, 32.7 units open to sport fishing)
- §50 CFR part 404 (Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument) — applies to Midway Atoll
- §15 CFR part 922 (Papahanaumokuakea National Marine Sanctuary regulations, effective 24 March 2025) — applies to Midway Atoll
- §Secretarial Order 3210 of 3 December 1999 and 64 FR 73062 (establishment of Navassa Island National Wildlife Refuge)
- Licence requise
- Requise
- Fusil harpon
- Interdit
- Étrangers
- Non autorisé
La loi, verbatim
Textes juridiques
Les dispositions législatives et réglementaires exactes qui régissent la chasse sous-marine ici, citées telles que publiées, avec un lien vers chaque source officielle.
Non-commercial fishing is prohibited throughout the Pacific Islands Heritage (Pacific Remote Islands) Marine National Monument except under permit
50 CFR part 665 subpart G — Pacific Remote Island Areas Fisheries; Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument
§ 665.933 Prohibitions. In addition to the general prohibitions specified in § 600.725 of this chapter, and § 665.15 and subparts E and F of this part, the following activities are prohibited in the Monument and, thus, unlawful for a person to conduct or cause to be conducted. (a) Commercial fishing in the Monument. (b) Non-commercial fishing in the Monument, except as authorized under permit and pursuant to the procedures and criteria established in § 665.935. (c) Transferring a permit in violation of § 665.935(d). (d) Commercial fishing outside the Monument and non-commercial fishing within the Monument on the same trip in violation of § 665.934(c). (e) Non-commercial fishing within 12 nm of emergent land within the Monument, unless authorized by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, in consultation with NMFS and the Council, in violation of § 665.934(d). For the purposes of this subsection, consultation means that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service will consult with NMFS, which in turn will consult with the Council.
Regulated activities in the Monument — including the outright ban on non-commercial fishing within 12 nautical miles of emergent land
50 CFR part 665 subpart G
§ 665.934 Regulated activities. (a) Commercial fishing is prohibited in the Monument. (b) Non-commercial fishing is prohibited in the Monument, except under permit and pursuant to the procedures and criteria established in § 665.935 or pursuant to § 665.934(d). (c) Commercial fishing outside the Monument and non-commercial fishing within the Monument during the same trip is prohibited. (d) Non-commercial fishing is prohibited within 12 nm of emergent land within the Monument, unless authorized by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, in consultation with NMFS and the Council. For the purposes of this subsection, consultation means that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service will consult with NMFS, which in turn will consult with the Council.
Monument boundaries — the islands and atolls of the US Minor Outlying Islands covered by the monument fishing regime
50 CFR part 665 subpart G
§ 665.931 Boundaries. The Monument, including the waters and submerged and emergent lands of Wake, Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, and Palmyra Atoll, is defined as follows: (a) Wake Island. The Wake Island unit of the Monument includes the waters and submerged and emergent lands around Wake Island to the seaward limit of the U.S. EEZ. [...] (c) Jarvis Island. The Jarvis Island unit of the Monument includes the waters and submerged and emergent lands around Jarvis Island to the seaward limit of the U.S. EEZ. (d) Johnston Atoll. The Johnston Atoll unit of the Monument includes the waters and submerged and emergent lands around Johnston Atoll to the seaward limit of the U.S. EEZ.
The only fishing permits available in the Monument: a registered non-commercial vessel permit and a recreational charter permit
50 CFR part 665 subpart G
§ 665.935 Fishing permit procedures and criteria. (a) Non-commercial fishing —(1) Applicability. Except as provided in section 665.934(d), a vessel that is used to non-commercially fish for, take, retain, or possess MUS in the Monument must be registered for use with a permit issued pursuant to §§ 665.603, 665.624, 665.642, 665.662, 665.801(f), or 665.801(g). (2) Terms and conditions. Customary exchange of fish harvested in the Monument is prohibited. (b) Pacific Remote Islands Monument recreational charter permit —(1) Applicability. Except as provided in § 665.934(d), both the owner and operator of a vessel that is chartered to recreationally fish for, take, retain, or possess MUS in the Monument must have a permit issued under this section, and the permit must be registered for use with that vessel. Charter boat customers are not required to obtain a permit.
Application of the Monument fishing rules to non-US persons
50 CFR part 665 subpart G
§ 665.936 International law. The regulations in this subpart shall be applied in accordance with international law. No restrictions shall apply to or be enforced against a person who is not a citizen, national, or resident alien of the United States (including foreign flag vessels) unless in accordance with international law.
Taking any animal on a national wildlife refuge is prohibited
50 CFR part 27 — Prohibited Acts (National Wildlife Refuge System)
§ 27.21 General provisions. No person shall take any animal or plant on any national wildlife refuge, except as authorized under 50 CFR 27.51 and parts 31, 32, and 33 of this subchapter C.
Entering a national wildlife refuge without specific authorisation is trespass
50 CFR part 26 — Public Entry and Use (National Wildlife Refuge System)
§ 26.21 General trespass provision. (a) No person shall trespass, including but not limited to entering, occupying, using, or being upon, any national wildlife refuge, except as specifically authorized in this subchapter C or in other applicable Federal regulations.
No refuge in the US Minor Outlying Islands is opened to sport fishing: the national list of refuge units open to hunting and/or sport fishing ends at Guam
50 CFR part 32 — Hunting and Fishing
§ 32.7 What refuge units are open to hunting and/or sport fishing? Refuge units open to hunting and/or sport fishing in accordance with the provisions of this subpart and §§ 32.20 through 32.70, inclusive, are as follows: (a) Alabama. [...] (k) Hawaii. (1) Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge. (2) Kakahaia National Wildlife Refuge. (3) Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge. [...] (yy) Guam. (1) Guam National Wildlife Refuge. (2) [Reserved] [84 FR 47671, Sept. 10, 2019, as amended at 85 FR 54103, Aug. 31, 2020; 86 FR 48849, Aug. 31, 2021; 87 FR 57128, Sept. 16, 2022; 89 FR 88162, Nov. 7, 2024; 90 FR 41912, Aug. 28, 2025]
Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument (which contains Midway Atoll): taking any living monument resource, carrying unstowed fishing gear, and swimming, snorkelling or diving in the Midway Atoll Special Management Area are prohibited
50 CFR part 404 — Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument
§ 404.7 Regulated activities. Except as provided in §§ 404.8, 404.9 and 404.10, the following activities are prohibited and thus unlawful for any person to conduct or cause to be conducted within the Monument without a valid permit as provided for in § 404.11: (a) Removing, moving, taking, harvesting, possessing, injuring, disturbing, or damaging; or attempting to remove, move, take, harvest, possess, injure, disturb, or damage any living or nonliving Monument resource; [...] (h) Possessing fishing gear except when stowed and not available for immediate use during passage without interruption through the Monument; (i) Swimming, snorkeling, or closed or open circuit SCUBA diving within any Special Preservation Area or the Midway Atoll Special Management Area; and (j) Attracting any living Monument resource.
Entering the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument (including the waters of Midway Atoll) is prohibited without a permit
50 CFR part 404
§ 404.4 Access to Monument. (a) Entering the Monument is prohibited and thus unlawful except: (1) As provided in §§ 404.8 and 404.9; (2) Pursuant to a permit issued under § 404.10 or § 404.11; or (3) When conducting passage without interruption in accordance with paragraphs (b) through (f) of this section.
Papahanaumokuakea National Marine Sanctuary: non-commercial fishing, taking any sanctuary resource, and swimming, snorkelling or SCUBA diving are prohibited
15 CFR part 922 subpart — Papahanaumokuakea National Marine Sanctuary (regulations effective 24 March 2025)
§ 922.244 Prohibited or otherwise regulated activities. (a) The following activities are prohibited and thus are unlawful for any person to conduct or to cause to be conducted within the sanctuary, except as specified in paragraphs (b) through (f) of this section: (1) Exploring for, developing, or producing oil, gas, or minerals, or any energy development activities; (2) Using or attempting to use poisons, electrical charges, or explosives in the collection or harvest of a sanctuary resource; (3) Introducing or otherwise releasing an introduced species from within or into the sanctuary; (4) Deserting a vessel; (5) Anchoring on or having a vessel anchored on any living or dead coral with an anchor, anchor chain, or anchor rope; (6) Commercial fishing, or possessing commercial fishing gear except when stowed and not available for immediate use; (7) Failing to comply with the vessel monitoring system requirements in violation of § 922.246. (8) Failing to comply with ship reporting requirements in violation of § 922.243. (9) Non-commercial fishing, or possessing non-commercial fishing gear except when stowed and not available for immediate use; [...] (11) Removing, moving, taking, harvesting, possessing, injuring, disturbing, or damaging; or attempting to remove, move, take, harvest, possess, injure, disturb, or damage any living or nonliving sanctuary resource; (12) Attracting any living sanctuary resource; (13) Touching coral, living or dead; (14) Swimming, snorkeling, or closed or open circuit SCUBA diving; [...] (d) The prohibitions in paragraph (a)(9) through (12), and (a)(14) of this section do not apply to non-commercial fishing activities in the Outer Sanctuary Zone authorized under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act provided that: (1) Fish harvested, either in whole or in part, are not intended to enter commerce and shall not enter commerce through sale, barter, or trade, and that the resource is managed sustainably; (2) Fish harvested, either in whole or in part, are not intended to be sold and shall not be sold for any purposes, including, but not limited to, cost-recovery; and (3) The activities under paragraph (a)(9) through (12), and (a)(14) are only conducted as incidental to and necessary to conduct lawful non-commercial fishing activity.
Definition of the Midway Atoll Special Management Area and of the Outer Sanctuary Zone (the only zone where non-commercial fishing may occur)
15 CFR part 922 subpart — Papahanaumokuakea National Marine Sanctuary
Midway Atoll Special Management Area means the area of the sanctuary surrounding Midway Atoll out to a distance of 12 nautical miles. The coordinates are listed in appendix C to this subpart. [...] Outer Sanctuary Zone means the waters and submerged lands extending from approximately 50 nautical miles from all islands and emergent lands of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands to the extent of the seaward limit of the United States Exclusive Economic Zone (U.S. EEZ) west of 163° West Longitude. The precise boundary coordinates for the Outer Sanctuary Zone are listed in appendix B to this subpart.
Proclamation 8336 (2009) establishing the monument: commercial fishing prohibited, non-commercial fishing only by permission
Proclamation 8336 of 6 January 2009 (74 FR 1565), Establishment of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument — retitled 'Establishment of the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument' by Proclamation 10880
Regulation of Fishing and Management of Fishery Resources The respective Secretaries may permit noncommercial fishing upon request, at specific locations in accordance with this proclamation. Noncommercial fishing opportunities currently allowed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at Palmyra Atoll may continue unless the Secretary of the Interior determines such fishing would not be compatible with the purposes of the Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. The Secretary shall provide a process to ensure that recreational fishing shall be managed as a sustainable activity in certain areas of the monument, consistent with Executive Order 12962 of June 7, 1995, as amended, and other applicable law. The Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, shall have responsibility for management of the monument, including out to 12 nautical miles from the mean low water lines of Wake, Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, and Palmyra Atoll, pursuant to applicable legal authorities. However, the Secretary of Defense shall continue to manage Wake Island, according to the terms and conditions of an Agreement between the Secretary of the Interior and Secretary of the Air Force, unless and until such Agreement is terminated. The Secretary of Commerce, through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, shall have primary responsibility for management of the monument seaward of the area 12 nautical miles of the mean low water lines of Wake, Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, and Palmyra Atoll, with respect to fishery-related activities regulated pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) and any other applicable legal authorities. The Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior shall not allow or permit any appropriation, injury, destruction, or removal of any feature of this monument except as provided for by this proclamation and shall prohibit commercial fishing within boundaries of the monument.
Proclamation 9173 (2014) expanding the monument to the EEZ around Jarvis Island, Wake Island and Johnston Atoll
Proclamation 9173 of 25 September 2014 (79 FR 58645), Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument Expansion — retitled by Proclamation 10880
The Monument Expansion includes the waters and submerged lands of Jarvis and Wake Islands and Johnston Atoll that lie from the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument boundary established in Proclamation 8336 to the seaward limit of the U.S. EEZ (as established in Proclamation 5030 of March 10, 1983) of Jarvis and Wake Islands and Johnston Atoll. The Federal lands and interests in lands reserved consist of approximately 308,316 square nautical miles, which is the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected. The Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce may permit noncommercial fishing upon request, at specific locations in accordance with this proclamation and Proclamation 8336. The Secretaries shall provide a process to ensure that recreational fishing continues to be managed as a sustainable activity in the Monument and Monument Expansion, in accordance with this proclamation, Proclamation 8336, and consistent with Executive Order 12962 of June 7, 1995, as amended, and other applicable law.
Proclamation 10880 (2025) renaming the monument the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument
Proclamation 10880 of 2 January 2025 (90 FR 2575)
Section 1. The title of Proclamation 8336 is amended to read, "Establishment of the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument." Sec. 2. The title of Proclamation 9173 is amended to read, "Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument Expansion." Sec. 3. The phrase "Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument" is amended to read, "Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument," wherever it appears in Proclamation 8336 and Proclamation 9173.
Proclamation 10918 (2025) reopened the monument to COMMERCIAL fishing between 50 and 200 nautical miles; it changed nothing else
Proclamation 10918 of 17 April 2025 (90 FR 16987), Unleashing American Commercial Fishing in the Pacific
Between 50 to 200 nautical miles from the landward boundaries of the Monument, the Secretary of Commerce shall not prohibit commercial fishing within the boundaries of the Monument and the Monument Expansion in those areas where the Monument and Monument Expansion is coterminous with the Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States. The implementation of any regulation of commercial fishing within the Monument and the Monument Expansion shall be done in coordination with the Secretary of Defense. Only United States flagged vessels shall be allowed to commercially fish within the boundaries of the Monument and the Monument Expansion, except that permits may be issued to foreign flagged vessels to transship fish harvested by United States fishermen. [...] The Secretary of Defense shall continue to manage Wake Island and Johnston Atoll as specified in Proclamation 8336. [...] Nothing in this proclamation shall change the management of the areas designated and reserved by Proclamations 8336 and 9173, except as explicitly provided in this proclamation.
Proclamation 11035 (2026) removed further monument-based COMMERCIAL fishing prohibitions but expressly left the restrictions within 50 nautical miles of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (which include Midway Atoll) untouched
Proclamation 11035 of 11 June 2026 (91 FR 36741), Restoring American Commercial Fishing in the Pacific
Proclamation 10918 previously modified the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument by providing, among other things, that the Secretary of Commerce shall not prohibit commercial fishing within specified Monument and Monument Expansion areas. Proclamation 10918 is modified to clarify that the proclamation itself removes monument-based prohibitions on commercial fishing and agency rulemaking is intended to amend or repeal inconsistent regulations. NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including section 320301 of title 54, United States Code, hereby proclaim that Proclamations 8031, 8335, 8337, and 9478 are modified to remove certain monument-based prohibitions on commercial fishing in: (a) the Islands Unit of the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument; (b) the Mau Zone and Ho'omalu Zone and areas seaward of 50 nautical miles within the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument; and (c) waters between 12 and 50 nautical miles surrounding Rose Atoll, consistent with applicable fishery management plans and implementing regulations. Only United States flagged vessels shall be allowed to fish commercially within the boundaries of these monuments, except that permits may be issued to foreign flagged vessels to transport fish harvested by United States fishermen. Nothing in this proclamation alters existing restrictions applicable within 50 nautical miles of the center geographical positions of certain islands and reefs in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands or within 12 nautical miles of Rose Atoll. Such restrictions may be modified pursuant to applicable statutory and regulatory processes.
Navassa Island National Wildlife Refuge covers the island and the full extent of its territorial sea out to 12 miles, administered under the refuge regulations of 50 CFR subchapter C
Notice, Change in Administrative Jurisdiction of Navassa Island (64 FR 73062, 29 December 1999); Secretarial Order 3210 of 3 December 1999
This gives public notice of the establishment of the Navassa Island National Wildlife Refuge. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and the Director of the Office of Insular Affairs (both within the Department of the Interior) established the refuge on April 22, 1999. On December 3, 1999, the Secretary of the Interior transferred full administrative responsibility for the island and its territorial waters from the Office of Insular Affairs to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service by Secretarial Order 3210. We will continue to administer this area under the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd-ee), the general regulations governing the National Wildlife Refuge System published in Title 50, Subchapter C, Code of Federal Regulations, and in accordance with all applicable laws, policies, and rules. The refuge consists of all of Navassa Island located in latitude 18'25'' N and longitude 75'02'' W from Greenwich together with the full extent of its territorial sea, which currently extends outward to 12 miles.
Quand vous pouvez plonger
Saisons et restrictions temporelles
Périodes de fermeture, d'ouverture et de restriction tout au long de l'année. Confirmez toujours localement les fermetures propres à chaque espèce.
Aucune fermeture saisonnière enregistrée — vérifiez localement avant de plonger.
Autorisation de pêcher
Licence
Ce dont vous avez besoin pour être autorisé dans l'eau, ce que cela coûte et comment l'obtenir.
Special Use Permits are issued by the refuge manager of the relevant refuge complex (Pacific Reefs National Wildlife Refuge Complex for the Pacific units; Caribbean Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex, based at Cabo Rojo, for Navassa). Monument fishing permits are applied for through NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Regional Office as described in 50 CFR 665.13. In practice these permits are issued for research, management and (at Palmyra) catch-and-release bone-fishing, not for spearfishing.
Obtenez votre licenceOuvre le portail officiel · ecfr.gov
- Type
- There is no recreational spearfishing licence for these islands. Two separate federal authorisations would have to exist and neither is available for spearfishing: (1) a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Special Use Permit, which is the only lawful way to enter any of the refuges; and (2) for fishing in monument waters, a non-commercial fishing permit registered to the vessel or a Pacific Remote Islands Monument recreational charter permit under 50 CFR 665.935, plus — inside 12 nautical miles of emergent land — a separate Fish and Wildlife Service authorisation under 50 CFR 665.934(d).
- Comment l'obtenir
- Special Use Permits are issued by the refuge manager of the relevant refuge complex (Pacific Reefs National Wildlife Refuge Complex for the Pacific units; Caribbean Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex, based at Cabo Rojo, for Navassa). Monument fishing permits are applied for through NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Regional Office as described in 50 CFR 665.13. In practice these permits are issued for research, management and (at Palmyra) catch-and-release bone-fishing, not for spearfishing.
- Autorité
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Regional Office
Matériel et technique
Règles d'équipement
Quel matériel est autorisé, comment il peut être utilisé et les conditions associées.
Restrictions
- No speargun use is authorised anywhere in the territory: all take of animals on the refuges is prohibited (50 CFR 27.21) and non-commercial fishing in the monument is prohibited except under permit (50 CFR 665.933(b)).
- In Papahanaumokuakea (Midway Atoll) it is unlawful to possess fishing gear at all except "when stowed and not available for immediate use during passage without interruption through the Monument" (50 CFR 404.7(h)); the same stowage rule applies to non-commercial gear in the sanctuary (15 CFR 922.244(a)(9)).
- Swimming, snorkelling and closed- or open-circuit SCUBA diving are themselves prohibited within the Midway Atoll Special Management Area, i.e. out to 12 nautical miles from Midway (50 CFR 404.7(i); 15 CFR 922.244(a)(14)).
- Attracting any living monument or sanctuary resource (baiting, chumming) is prohibited (50 CFR 404.7(j); 15 CFR 922.244(a)(12)).
- Use of poisons, electrical charges or explosives to take a sanctuary resource is prohibited (15 CFR 922.244(a)(2)).
scuba_allowed is left null rather than false because the answer differs by island and is irrelevant to spearfishing: recreational diving is prohibited within 12 nautical miles of Midway Atoll (50 CFR 404.7(i)), whereas at Palmyra Atoll the Fish and Wildlife Service states that "For those bringing their own equipment, SCUBA diving may also be permitted under certain conditions" alongside snorkelling. Lawful diving never carries with it any right to take fish.
Ce que vous pouvez prélever
Limites de capture et espèces protégées
Quotas journaliers, tailles minimales et espèces qui ne doivent jamais être prélevées.
Limite journalière
Zero. No recreational take of fish is authorised anywhere in the territory; the only permitted recreational fishing found in any official source is catch-and-release bone-fishing at Palmyra Atoll under a Special Use Permit.
No species-specific bag or size limits are published for these islands because no recreational harvest is authorised at all. Where a permitted non-commercial fishery does exist on paper (50 CFR 665.935), it is expressed in terms of management unit species (MUS) under the Pacific Remote Island Areas fishery ecosystem plan and carries an express ban on customary exchange, sale, barter or trade of anything caught in the monument.
Qui peut pêcher
Visiteurs et résidents
Comment les règles diffèrent pour les visiteurs étrangers et les résidents locaux.
Visiteurs étrangers
Non autoriséeLicence spéciale requise
Exigences
- A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Special Use Permit to enter any refuge (all nine units are closed to the general public; Midway is closed to visitation entirely).
- For Palmyra Atoll, prior Fish and Wildlife Service approval for the vessel visit (maximum two vessels at a time, no more than six per month, up to seven days, and only while a Service manager is present).
- For any fishing in monument waters, a permit under 50 CFR 665.935 and, inside 12 nautical miles of emergent land, a separate Fish and Wildlife Service authorisation under 50 CFR 665.934(d).
Restrictions
- Entering the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument (Midway Atoll) without a permit is itself unlawful (50 CFR 404.4(a)); the same is true of the Papahanaumokuakea sanctuary (15 CFR 922.243(a)).
- Wake Island and Johnston Atoll are administered by the Department of Defense; access requires military permission in addition to the refuge permit.
A genuine but narrow qualification exists on paper: 50 CFR 665.936 provides that the monument fishing regulations "shall be applied in accordance with international law" and that "No restrictions shall apply to or be enforced against a person who is not a citizen, national, or resident alien of the United States (including foreign flag vessels) unless in accordance with international law." This does not create a spearfishing opportunity for foreigners: within the territorial sea (12 nautical miles) and on the islands themselves the United States exercises full sovereignty, and the refuge trespass and take prohibitions (50 CFR 26.21, 27.21) and the Papahanaumokuakea rules apply to everyone. Navassa Island is claimed by Haiti; the United States administers it as a national wildlife refuge and the note above about sovereignty should not be read as legal advice on that dispute.
Résidents
There is no resident population. All nine units are uninhabited; the only people present are U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and contractor staff, researchers, Nature Conservancy staff at Palmyra, and Department of Defense personnel and contractors at Wake Island and Johnston Atoll. There is consequently no resident licensing regime, and personnel on station are subject to the same refuge and monument prohibitions.
Où sur la côte
Zones autorisées et interdites
Zones nommées ouvertes ou fermées à la chasse sous-marine. Voir l'image complète sur la carte interactive.
Zones interdites
- Baker Island National Wildlife Refuge and Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument (Baker Island unit)national wildlife refuge / marine national monument
Baker Island lies 1,830 nautical miles south-west of Honolulu; the refuge was established in 1974 and now covers 410,184 acres, of which only 531 acres are dry land and 409,653 acres are submerged. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service states that "Baker Island is uninhabited, and entry is by Special Use Permit only", so there is no lawful way for a visiting spearfisher even to reach the water. Three separate federal rules then close the fishery: taking any animal on a national wildlife refuge is prohibited (50 CFR 27.21) and no refuge in the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands appears in the national list of units opened to sport fishing (50 CFR 32.7); non-commercial fishing anywhere in the surrounding marine national monument is prohibited except under a NOAA-issued permit (50 CFR 665.933(b)); and non-commercial fishing within 12 nautical miles of emergent land is prohibited outright unless the Fish and Wildlife Service authorises it (50 CFR 665.934(d)). Proclamations 10918 (2025) and 11035 (2026) reopened parts of the monument to COMMERCIAL fishing only and left the non-commercial prohibitions in place. Spearfishing is therefore prohibited.
- Howland Island National Wildlife Refuge and Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument (Howland Island unit)national wildlife refuge / marine national monument
Howland Island — best known as Amelia Earhart's intended landfall — carries a refuge established in 1974 and, per the Fish and Wildlife Service, "expanded in 2009 as part of the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument to include submerged lands out to 50 nautical miles from the island", for a total of 410,999 acres of which 648 acres are terrestrial and 410,351 acres submerged. The Service states plainly that "Howland is uninhabited, and entry is by Special Use Permit only" and that the refuge "is not open to the public". Recreational fishing has no legal basis here: 50 CFR 27.21 forbids taking any animal on a refuge, 50 CFR 32.7 opens no refuge in these islands to sport fishing, and 50 CFR 665.933(b)/665.934(d) prohibit non-commercial fishing in the monument and, absolutely, within 12 nautical miles of emergent land absent a Fish and Wildlife Service authorisation. A shallow fringing reef surrounds the island but it may not be fished. Spearfishing is prohibited.
- Jarvis Island National Wildlife Refuge and Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument (Jarvis Island unit)national wildlife refuge / marine national monument
Jarvis Island sits 1,305 nautical miles south of Honolulu on the equator. The Fish and Wildlife Service describes a refuge established in 1974 that "includes submerged lands out to 200 nautical miles from the island, encompassing 429,853 acres, with 1,273 acres being terrestrial and 428,580 acres being submerged", and states that the refuge "is not open to the public and entry is only allowed through a Special Use Permit when the activity is deemed appropriate with purposes to the refuge establishment". Jarvis was one of the three units whose monument waters Proclamation 9173 (2014) pushed out to the full limit of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone. Within that monument, non-commercial fishing is prohibited except under permit (50 CFR 665.933(b)) and is prohibited outright inside 12 nautical miles of emergent land (50 CFR 665.934(d)); refuge rules independently prohibit taking any animal (50 CFR 27.21). Spearfishing is prohibited.
- Johnston Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument (Johnston Atoll unit)national wildlife refuge / marine national monument / military zone
Johnston Atoll, 716 nautical miles south-west of Honolulu, is one of the most isolated atolls in the world, with a shallow coral reef of roughly 32,000 acres and, per the Fish and Wildlife Service, a monument boundary that "is a complete 200 mile radius around Johnston Atoll". The atoll is a former military and chemical-weapons destruction site: Proclamation 8336 as amended by Proclamation 10918 provides that "The Secretary of Defense shall continue to manage Wake Island and Johnston Atoll as specified in Proclamation 8336", so access is controlled by the Department of Defense in addition to the refuge overlay. The Service states the refuge "is not open to the public and entry is only allowed through a Special Use Permit". Fishing is closed by 50 CFR 27.21 (no taking of animals on a refuge), by the absence of any listing in 50 CFR 32.7, and by 50 CFR 665.933(b) and 665.934(d), which prohibit non-commercial fishing in the monument and, unconditionally, within 12 nautical miles of emergent land unless the Fish and Wildlife Service authorises it. Spearfishing is prohibited.
- Kingman Reef National Wildlife Refuge and Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument (Kingman Reef unit)national wildlife refuge / marine national monument
Kingman Reef is an almost entirely submerged atoll: the Fish and Wildlife Service describes the refuge as consisting of "all emergent areas of Kingman Reef and its surrounding 487,016 acres of submerged lands and waters that extend out 12 nautical miles, including over 25,000 acres of thriving coral reef habitat", with dry land barely a few feet above sea level. It is one of the least disturbed reef systems in the Pacific and, precisely for that reason, one of the most tightly closed: the Service states the refuge "is not open to the public and entry is only allowed through a Special Use Permit when the activity is deemed appropriate with purposes to the refuge establishment". Taking any animal is prohibited under 50 CFR 27.21, no unit here is opened to sport fishing by 50 CFR 32.7, and non-commercial fishing is prohibited throughout the monument under 50 CFR 665.933(b) and absolutely within 12 nautical miles of emergent land under 50 CFR 665.934(d). Spearfishing is prohibited.
- Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument (Palmyra Atoll unit)national wildlife refuge / marine national monument
Palmyra is the one place in the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands a private vessel can lawfully visit — and still not spearfish. The refuge was "established on January 18, 2001, by the Secretary of the Interior and includes submerged lands and associated waters out to 12 nautical miles from the atoll", with monument waters reaching 50 nautical miles; the atoll itself is a ring of about 26 islets around lagoons and 15,000 acres of reef, co-managed with The Nature Conservancy. With prior Fish and Wildlife Service approval privately owned vessels may stay up to seven days (maximum two vessels at a time, no more than six per month, and only while a Service manager is present, roughly six months a year). On fishing the Service is explicit: "Due to the sensitive nature of Palmyra's ecosystem and the high abundance of apex predators, recreational fishing opportunities are very limited. Permits for catch and release bone-fishing will only be issued to groups who are led by a resource monitor already familiar with the atoll's environment and refuge regulations who is approved by the refuge manager." Only catch-and-release fly fishing under that permit exists; taking any animal remains prohibited under 50 CFR 27.21, and Proclamation 8336 preserved only the non-commercial fishing "currently allowed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at Palmyra Atoll". Snorkelling and, conditionally, SCUBA are allowed — spearfishing is not.
- Wake Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument (Wake Island unit)national wildlife refuge / marine national monument / military zone
Wake Atoll lies 2,138 nautical miles west of Honolulu and is an active U.S. Air Force installation as well as a refuge that "includes 495,515 acres of submerged lands and waters surrounding Wake Atoll out to 12 nautical miles from the mean low water line of the islands". Two authorities must be satisfied and both are closed to visitors: the Department of Defense continues to administer the island itself (Proclamation 8336, as amended by Proclamation 10918: "The Secretary of Defense shall continue to manage Wake Island and Johnston Atoll as specified in Proclamation 8336"), and the Fish and Wildlife Service states the refuge "is not accessible to the general public. Refuge access is solely managed through the issuance of a Special Use Permit when the activity is deemed compatible and appropriate with the purposes of refuge establishment." Proclamation 9173 extended the monument around Wake to the EEZ limit. Non-commercial fishing is prohibited in the monument except under a NOAA permit (50 CFR 665.933(b)) and prohibited within 12 nautical miles of emergent land unless the Fish and Wildlife Service authorises it (50 CFR 665.934(d)); no such authorisation for recreational spearfishing has been published. Spearfishing is prohibited.
- Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and Battle of Midway National Memorial (Midway Atoll Special Management Area)national wildlife refuge / marine national monument / national marine sanctuary
Midway is administratively part of the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands but legally sits inside Papahanaumokuakea, so a different and stricter rulebook applies than at the Pacific Remote Islands. The refuge and national memorial "is currently closed to public visitation". Within the monument, 50 CFR 404.4(a) makes entering it unlawful without a permit, and 50 CFR 404.7 prohibits "removing, moving, taking, harvesting, possessing, injuring, disturbing, or damaging ... any living or nonliving Monument resource", "possessing fishing gear except when stowed and not available for immediate use during passage without interruption", and — uniquely — "swimming, snorkeling, or closed or open circuit SCUBA diving within any Special Preservation Area or the Midway Atoll Special Management Area", the Special Management Area being defined as the sanctuary waters "surrounding Midway Atoll out to a distance of 12 nautical miles". The Papahanaumokuakea National Marine Sanctuary regulations that took effect on 24 March 2025 repeat the ban (15 CFR 922.244(a)(9)-(14)); their only fishing exception applies in the Outer Sanctuary Zone beyond roughly 50 nautical miles from emergent land, not at the atoll. Proclamation 11035 of 2026 expressly did not alter "existing restrictions applicable within 50 nautical miles of the center geographical positions of certain islands and reefs in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands". Spearfishing and even swimming are prohibited.
- Navassa Island National Wildlife Refuge (Caribbean Sea)national wildlife refuge
Navassa is the only Caribbean member of the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands: an uninhabited 5 km2 limestone island between Haiti and Jamaica, ringed by cliffs 20 metres and more high with no beaches. The refuge was created in 1999 and, per the establishing Federal Register notice, "consists of all of Navassa Island ... together with the full extent of its territorial sea, which currently extends outward to 12 miles", administered under the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act and "the general regulations governing the National Wildlife Refuge System published in Title 50, Subchapter C". Those regulations do the work: 50 CFR 26.21(a) makes entering the refuge without specific authorisation trespass and 50 CFR 27.21 prohibits taking any animal, while 50 CFR 32.7 opens no refuge in these islands to sport fishing. The Fish and Wildlife Service states "Navassa Island NWR is closed to the public" and provides no visitor services. The Pacific monument regulations do not reach Navassa; the refuge rules alone make spearfishing prohibited in its waters out to 12 miles.
Conditions sur l'eau
Conditions en direct
Aperçu marin et météo en direct près d'un point de référence côtier en United States Minor Outlying Islands, fourni par Open-Meteo. Les conditions varient le long de la côte — à considérer comme indicatives.
Conditions marines et météo en direct près de Baker Island National Wildlife Refuge and Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument (Baker Island unit).
À qui s'adresser
Autorités
Les organismes officiels responsables de la pêche et des licences.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — Pacific Reefs National Wildlife Refuge Complex (Baker, Howland, Jarvis, Johnston, Kingman, Palmyra, Wake)
wildlife refuge authority
fws.govReport violations: 1-844-FWS-TIPS (1-844-379-8477)U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and Battle of Midway National Memorial
wildlife refuge authority
fws.gov(808) 954-4818U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — Caribbean Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex (Navassa Island)
wildlife refuge authority
NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Regional Office (PIRO) — monument fishing permits
fisheries authority
Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument (NOAA / USFWS / State of Hawaii) — Midway Atoll permits
marine protected area authority
U.S. Department of Defense / U.S. Air Force — Wake Island and Johnston Atoll administration
military authority
D'où cela provient
Sources
Chaque affirmation sur cette page renvoie à l'une de ces références.
- [01]
50 CFR 665.933 — Prohibitions (Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument)
Officielleecfr.govConsulté le août 20 - [02]
50 CFR 665.934 — Regulated activities
Officielleecfr.govConsulté le août 20 - [03]
50 CFR 665.931 — Boundaries
Officielleecfr.govConsulté le août 20 - [04]
50 CFR 665.935 — Fishing permit procedures and criteria
Officielleecfr.govConsulté le août 20 - [05]
50 CFR 665.936 — International law
Officielleecfr.govConsulté le août 20 - [06]
50 CFR 27.21 — General provisions (prohibited take on national wildlife refuges)
Officielleecfr.govConsulté le août 20 - [07]
50 CFR 26.21 — General trespass provision
Officielleecfr.govConsulté le août 20 - [08]
50 CFR 32.7 — What refuge units are open to hunting and/or sport fishing?
Officielleecfr.govConsulté le août 20 - [09]
50 CFR 404.4 — Access to Monument (Papahanaumokuakea)
Officielleecfr.govConsulté le août 20 - [10]
50 CFR 404.7 — Regulated activities (Papahanaumokuakea)
Officielleecfr.govConsulté le août 20 - [11]
15 CFR 922.241 — Definitions (Papahanaumokuakea National Marine Sanctuary)
Officielleecfr.govConsulté le août 20 - [12]
15 CFR 922.243 — Access (Papahanaumokuakea National Marine Sanctuary)
Officielleecfr.govConsulté le août 20 - [13]
15 CFR 922.244 — Prohibited or otherwise regulated activities (Papahanaumokuakea National Marine Sanctuary)
Officielleecfr.govConsulté le août 20 - [14]
Proclamation 8336 of 6 January 2009 — Establishment of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument (74 FR 1565)
Officiellefederalregister.govConsulté le août 20 - [15]
Proclamation 9173 of 25 September 2014 — Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument Expansion (79 FR 58645)
Officiellefederalregister.govConsulté le août 20 - [16]
Proclamation 10880 of 2 January 2025 — renaming to Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument (90 FR 2575)
Officiellefederalregister.govConsulté le août 20 - [17]
Proclamation 10918 of 17 April 2025 — Unleashing American Commercial Fishing in the Pacific (90 FR 16987)
Officiellefederalregister.govConsulté le août 20 - [18]
Proclamation 11035 of 11 June 2026 — Restoring American Commercial Fishing in the Pacific (91 FR 36741)
Officiellefederalregister.govConsulté le août 20 - [19]
Change in Administrative Jurisdiction of Navassa Island (64 FR 73062, 29 December 1999)
Officiellefederalregister.govConsulté le août 20 - [20]
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — Baker Island National Wildlife Refuge
Officiellefws.govConsulté le août 20 - [21]
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — Howland Island National Wildlife Refuge
Officiellefws.govConsulté le août 20 - [22]
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — Jarvis Island National Wildlife Refuge
Officiellefws.govConsulté le août 20 - [23]
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — Johnston Atoll National Wildlife Refuge
Officiellefws.govConsulté le août 20 - [24]
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — Kingman Reef National Wildlife Refuge
Officiellefws.govConsulté le août 20 - [25]
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge
Officiellefws.govConsulté le août 20 - [26]
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, Visit Us (fishing and vessel-visit rules)
Officiellefws.govConsulté le août 20 - [27]
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — Wake Atoll National Wildlife Refuge
Officiellefws.govConsulté le août 20 - [28]
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, Visit Us (closed to public visitation)
Officiellefws.govConsulté le août 20 - [29]
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — Navassa Island National Wildlife Refuge
Officiellefws.govConsulté le août 20 - [30]
UNSD Standard Country or Area Codes for Statistical Use (M49) — United States Minor Outlying Islands (581, UMI) listed under Oceania / Micronesia
Officielleunstats.un.orgConsulté le août 20 - [31]
GMRT Point Server (Global Multi-Resolution Topography synthesis) — used as the water/depth test for every zone coordinate
Officiellegmrt.orgConsulté le août 20
Notes du chercheur
New record created 2026-08-20 to close a structural gap: the Pacific Islands Heritage (formerly Pacific Remote Islands) Marine National Monument and the other U.S. Minor Outlying Islands had no country record and could not honestly be filed under USA. Scope of ISO 3166-1 UMI as used here: Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Atoll, Palmyra Atoll, Wake Island (Pacific) and Navassa Island (Caribbean). WHAT WAS VERIFIED AND HOW: every verbatim law text was re-fetched from eCFR (title 50 current as of 17 August 2026, title 15 as of 18 August 2026) or from the Federal Register full text and byte-checked against the fetched document; no quote is paraphrased. THE 2025-2026 PROCLAMATIONS: Proclamation 10880 (2 January 2025) renamed the monument the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument; Proclamation 10918 (17 April 2025) provided that between 50 and 200 nautical miles the Secretary of Commerce "shall not prohibit commercial fishing" in the monument, and Proclamation 11035 (11 June 2026) removed further monument-based commercial-fishing prohibitions in the Mariana Trench, Papahanaumokuakea and Rose Atoll monuments and clarified that 10918 itself removes the prohibitions. All three touch COMMERCIAL fishing only. 50 CFR 665.933 and 665.934 (the non-commercial prohibitions that bind a recreational spearfisher) have not been amended since 2013 and remain in force; a Federal Register full-text search returns zero documents citing 665.933 since 1 January 2025, i.e. NOAA has not yet published the conforming rulemaking that 10918(b) and 11035 direct. Proclamation 11035 also expressly states that nothing in it alters restrictions within 50 nautical miles of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, which is where Midway sits. A NAMING INCONSISTENCY is left as found: Proclamation 10918 (April 2025) still calls the monument the "Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument" even though Proclamation 10880 (January 2025) renamed it; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service pages now use the new name, so both names appear in this record. MIDWAY / PAPAHANAUMOKUAKEA OVERLAP: Midway Atoll is ISO 3166-1 UM-71 (part of UMI) but lies inside Papahanaumokuakea, which the USA record already carries as a monument-wide zone. The Midway zone here is deliberately a different, narrower object (the refuge and the Midway Atoll Special Management Area out to 12 nautical miles, with its swimming/snorkelling/diving prohibition), not a duplicate of the Northwestern-Hawaiian-Islands-wide zone in the USA record. Papahanaumokuakea as a whole stays in USA. COORDINATES: each zone point is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's own published refuge location point (the POINT geometry in the fws.gov facility-location payload), water-tested with the GMRT point server. Four of those points sit on dry land (Baker +5 m, Jarvis +9 m, Johnston +5 m, Navassa +52 m) and were moved 3.3-5.6 km seaward to the nearest clearly marine point inside the same refuge/monument (Baker -1197 m, Jarvis -1369 m, Johnston -185 m, Navassa -704 m); the Kingman (-51 m), Palmyra (-2164 m), Wake (-2997 m) and Midway (-8 m) points were already in water and are unchanged. HOWLAND WAS CORRECTED IN VERIFICATION: the raw U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service point (0.80730207, -176.6177) was accepted on a single GMRT reading of -25 m, but that reading is false — NOAA NCEI (ETOPO_2022_v1_15s surface elevation) returns +4.04 m there and a point-in-polygon test against the OpenStreetMap place=island coastline of Howland Island (relation 3379270, 145 vertices) returns INSIDE, 317 m from the nearest coastline vertex, i.e. the point was essentially the island’s own centroid on a 1.8 km x 0.6 km island. It was moved 3.34 km due west — the same treatment applied to Baker — to 0.80730207, -176.6477, which reads -1,552 m on ETOPO 2022 and -1,553 m on GEBCO2020, is 2.85 km (1.54 nm) from the coastline with the island point-in-polygon test FALSE, and falls inside both the 12-nautical-mile Howland Island refuge and the 50 CFR 665.931(b) Howland-and-Baker box (177°27’7″ W to 175°38’32″ W, 1°39’15″ N to 0°38’33″ S). EMODnet was not usable as a cross-check: its coverage is European and it returns an empty response for every Pacific and Caribbean point. No wdpa_id is asserted for any zone; the WDPA polygon matcher should be allowed to make those matches on its own. NEGATIVE PROOF (no refuge here is open to sport fishing) — the full audit trail: 50 CFR 32.7, the national list of refuge units open to hunting and/or sport fishing, was re-fetched independently (title 50 current as of 17 August 2026) and contains exactly 51 lettered jurisdictions running (a) Alabama to (yy) Guam, with zero occurrences of Baker, Howland, Jarvis, Johnston, Midway, Palmyra, Kingman, Wake, Navassa or "Minor Outlying" under any heading — (k) Hawaii lists only Hanalei, Kakahaia and Kilauea Point, and (yy) Guam lists only Guam National Wildlife Refuge. The whole of part 32 subpart B (§§ 32.20 through 32.70, ~939 kB of text) was also fetched and searched: zero mentions of any of the nine islands. 50 CFR 32.4 and 32.6 confirm that 32.7 plus subpart B are the codified expression of every opening ("Wildlife refuge areas may be opened to sport fishing only after a determination is made that this activity is compatible", "Refuge-specific fishing regulations are issued only at the time of or after the opening", and openings "initially publish[ed] ... in the Federal Register ... subsequently ... appear in 32.20 through 32.72"). The strongest single piece of evidence is historical: until the 2019 restructuring there WAS an on-point section, 50 CFR § 32.71 "United States Unincorporated Pacific Insular Possessions" (checked in the 2017 and 2019 editions), which listed Johnston Island National Wildlife Refuge and Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and, for both units, "D. Sport Fishing. [Reserved]" — i.e. no sport-fishing program was ever promulgated for either. That section was removed by 84 FR 47671 (10 September 2019) and neither unit reappears anywhere in the current part 32. THE ONE LINE A CHALLENGER WOULD CITE: the preamble of Proclamation 10918 recites that "Proclamations 8336 and 9173 do not list recreational fishing as a threat to local fish populations within the PRIMNM". That recital appears in no operative clause of the proclamation, amends no proclamation text and repeals no regulation; 10918’s operative paragraphs address commercial fishing only (paragraph (a) on the 50-200 nautical-mile band and paragraph (b) directing rulemaking on "regulations that restrict commercial fishing"). The non-commercial prohibitions of 50 CFR 665.933(b)/(e) and 665.934(b)/(d) therefore remain in force verbatim as quoted, which is why the verdict for a recreational spearfisher is "no". NAVASSA SOVEREIGNTY: 64 FR 73062, the establishment notice quoted here, contains no mention of Haiti and no mention of any sovereignty dispute (verified by full-text search of the notice), so this record makes no claim on that question in either direction. QUOTE NORMALISATIONS (all cosmetic, none changing a word): line-break hyphenation in the Federal Register text was closed up in "monument- based" -> "monument-based" and "Magnuson- Stevens" -> "Magnuson-Stevens"; the Federal Register’s macron markup "Papah[amacr]naumoku[amacr]kea" was rendered as "Papahanaumokuakea"; and the TeX-style quoting ``...’’ in the Proclamation 10880 text was rendered with ordinary quotation marks. HONEST UNCERTAINTY: no published document was found stating whether the Fish and Wildlife Service has ever authorised non-commercial fishing under 50 CFR 665.934(d) for Department of Defense personnel stationed at Wake Island or Johnston Atoll. The zones describe the prohibition and the authorisation route without asserting that such an authorisation does or does not exist. data_confidence is high because the whole chain (Code of Federal Regulations, presidential proclamations, the Federal Register establishment notice for Navassa, and the managing agency's own pages) is primary and was fetched, not inferred.
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