Relief could soon be on the way for American Samoa's tuna fleet from the restrictions imposed by the establishment of the Pacific Remote Islands Monument.
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to review monument designations going back more than 20-years.
The move could undo parts of former President Obama's establishment of the largest marine protected area in the world, encompassing key commercial fishing areas for American Samoa's tuna industry.
Photo: AFP
The President ordered the Interior Department to review the national monument designations made by his three predecessors.
"The Antiquities Act does not give the Federal Government unlimited power to lock up millions of acres of land and water," Mr Trump said.
" And it's time we end this abusive practice."
The tuna industry had lobbied that the restrictions imposed by the monument designation had severely hampered their ability to operate economically.