September 18, 2026
A new directive from the White House threatens to undo decades of hard-won marine conservation in the name of deregulation. President Trump’s recently signed Executive Order, titled “Restoring American Saltwater Angling and Recreation,” takes direct aim at the federal fisheries management systems that protect important marine habitat and our most vulnerable marine species, including sharks.
Under the guise of eliminating “unnecessary restrictions” and cutting red tape for recreational anglers and charter businesses, the administration is actively dismantling the safety nets that prevent overfishing and habitat destruction.
For those of us at Shark Stewards, one directive in the order stands out as an immediate red flag: the mandate to “remove barriers to sustainable shark fisheries.”
What’s at Stake: Our Current Protections
For years, the United States has relied on science-based management—primarily through the Magnuson-Stevens Act—to rebuild depleted fish stocks and protect the broader marine ecosystem. Our current protections rely on a careful balance:
- Strict Catch Limits and Quotas: Designed by NOAA using the best available science to ensure populations aren’t harvested faster than they can reproduce.
- Gear Restrictions: Regulations that minimize bycatch (the unintended capture of non-target species, which heavily impacts sharks and sea turtles).
- Marine Protected Areas: Safe havens, including Marine National Monuments and National Marine Sanctuaries, where fishing access is restricted to allow ecosystems to recover and thrive.
The new Executive Order actively seeks to replace “micromanaged restrictions” with “flexible standards,” pushing to open up previously closed marine monuments and prioritize maximum harvest quotas over ecological balance.
The Threat to Sharks and Endangered Species
Sharks are apex predators, vital to the health of our oceans. But they are also highly vulnerable to overfishing. Most shark species grow slowly, mature late, and produce very few young. They simply cannot withstand aggressive fishing pressure. While some species can recover from protection, others take decades to recover their populations once reduced,
By directing federal agencies to “remove barriers” to shark fishing, the administration is opening the floodgates for increased recreational targeting of these animals. Even in catch-and-release recreational shark fishing, the physiological stress and physical injury from being hooked and dragged to a boat often result in post-release mortality.
Furthermore, by transitioning away from conservative quotas and emphasizing “real-time” data to maximize profitability and access for the charter fleet, the buffer that protects endangered and threatened species is removed. Loosening gear restrictions and oversight will inevitably lead to higher bycatch rates, threatening not just sharks, but sea turtles, marine mammals, and other vulnerable species.
Habitat Impacts
The order also promotes the “Federal Outer Continental Shelf Reef-in-Place Program,” which seeks to leave decommissioned oil and gas platforms in the ocean as artificial reefs. While artificial reefs can sometimes attract marine life, relying on abandoned industrial infrastructure as a substitute for genuine habitat restoration is a dangerous precedent. True habitat conservation requires protecting natural reefs and vital coastal ecosystems—not just leaving industrial waste in the ocean to benefit the recreational fishing industry.
We Must Fight Back
The ocean belongs to all of us, not just the industries that seek to exploit it. Prioritizing short-term economic gains and unrestricted recreational access over the long-term survival of our marine ecosystems is a recipe for ecological disaster.
At Shark Stewards, we are mobilizing to defend the regulations that keep our oceans healthy and our sharks safe. We cannot allow decades of conservation progress to be wiped out by deregulation.
Take Action: Stand with Shark Stewards today. Contact your representatives, stay informed on the upcoming agency rule changes, and support our mission to protect sharks and their critical habitats before these rollbacks take permanent effect.