Baker Island National Wildlife Refuge and Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument (Baker Island unit)

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.