{"id":2711,"date":"2026-07-17T08:34:27","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T08:34:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2711"},"modified":"2026-07-17T08:34:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T08:34:27","slug":"deep-sea-mining-plan-off-american-samoa-draws-criticism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2711","title":{"rendered":"Deep-sea mining plan off American Samoa draws criticism"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The Trump administration is one step closer in its push to begin deep-sea mining in about 31 million acres of water off American Samoa. <\/p>\n

Read more Scientists say North Shore corals are now dying due to mud from the Kona low storms<\/a><\/p>\n

On Thursday, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) issued a proposed notice for two 20-year leases to carry out the practice in two portions of the Pacific Ocean\u2019s floor. Each lease area has a bid of $3 million.<\/p>\n

Critics argue the mining poses severe threats to marine ecosystems.<\/p>\n

\u201cOften, it involves scraping the ocean floor for minerals. This process directly impacts species that are living on the ocean floor, disturbing their habitat,\u201d Nick Katkevich with the Center for Biological Diversity said. \u201cI think it\u2019s deeply concerning. There\u2019s so many issues and concerns about the harms of deep sea mining.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Katkevich also questioned whether the bureau will study any potentially irreversible impacts sufficiently. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe environmental assessment carried out by the Trump administration, they themselves even admitted that this project\u2019s going to impact marine species. It\u2019s going to impact tuna stock,\u201d Katkevich added. <\/p>\n

Others, including Republican state Rep. Elijah Pierick, see the mining as a means to become less reliant on foreign materials needed for batteries and military programs. <\/p>\n

\u201cChina shouldn\u2019t be our main supplier of minerals like copper and cobalt and nickel,\u201d Pierick argued. \u201cIt\u2019s a delicate balance to steward our environment and our economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Hilo man sentenced for possessing child pornography<\/a><\/p>\n

Katkevich is skeptical of where the valuable minerals will actually go, and is concerned they could be used for AI data centers sprouting up nationwide. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe rapid buildout of data centers is very unpopular due to the environmental impacts, the impacts on water usage, and basically, these data centers need huge amounts of rare earth minerals in order to operate,\u201d Katkevich explained. <\/p>\n

Pierick believes impacts from the mining can be minimized. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf national security necessitates having American resources come from areas that America stewards, that\u2019s a value that we should hold while also holding the value of culture and the environment. We have to get a balance of both,\u201d Pierick said. <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Hawaii News Now reached out to the BOEM for comment and we are waiting to hear back. <\/p>\n

The governor of American Samoa has 60 days to comment on the proposed lease before the process can continue.<\/p>\n

Read more Mountain West media days unite former \u2018Bows-turned-coaches Chang, Niumatalolo<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Trump administration wants to begin deep-sea mining in about 31 million acres of the Pacific Ocean’s floor. Critics argue the mining poses severe threats to marine ecosystems.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2710,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nDeep-sea mining plan off American Samoa draws criticism - Hawaii Moving Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2711\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Deep-sea mining plan off American Samoa draws criticism - Hawaii Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Trump administration wants to begin deep-sea mining in about 31 million acres of the Pacific Ocean's floor. Critics argue the mining poses severe threats to marine ecosystems.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2711\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hawaii Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-17T08:34:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2711#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2711\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/590d72f16cb0f571fd45812a3c7ea1d0\"},\"headline\":\"Deep-sea mining plan off American Samoa draws criticism\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-17T08:34:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2711\"},\"wordCount\":420,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2711#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/bf822060ea8c556d0da1e3a87f851c4d.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2711#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2711\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2711\",\"name\":\"Deep-sea mining plan off American Samoa draws criticism - Hawaii Moving Insider\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2711#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2711#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/bf822060ea8c556d0da1e3a87f851c4d.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-17T08:34:27+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/590d72f16cb0f571fd45812a3c7ea1d0\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2711#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2711\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2711#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/bf822060ea8c556d0da1e3a87f851c4d.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/bf822060ea8c556d0da1e3a87f851c4d.avif\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2711#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Deep-sea mining plan off American Samoa draws criticism\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Hawaii Moving Insider\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/590d72f16cb0f571fd45812a3c7ea1d0\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Deep-sea mining plan off American Samoa draws criticism - Hawaii Moving Insider","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2711","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Deep-sea mining plan off American Samoa draws criticism - Hawaii Moving Insider","og_description":"The Trump administration wants to begin deep-sea mining in about 31 million acres of the Pacific Ocean's floor. Critics argue the mining poses severe threats to marine ecosystems.","og_url":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2711","og_site_name":"Hawaii Moving Insider","article_published_time":"2026-07-17T08:34:27+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2711#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2711"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/590d72f16cb0f571fd45812a3c7ea1d0"},"headline":"Deep-sea mining plan off American Samoa draws criticism","datePublished":"2026-07-17T08:34:27+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2711"},"wordCount":420,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2711#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/bf822060ea8c556d0da1e3a87f851c4d.avif","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2711#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2711","url":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2711","name":"Deep-sea mining plan off American Samoa draws criticism - Hawaii Moving Insider","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2711#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2711#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/bf822060ea8c556d0da1e3a87f851c4d.avif","datePublished":"2026-07-17T08:34:27+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/590d72f16cb0f571fd45812a3c7ea1d0"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2711#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2711"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2711#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/bf822060ea8c556d0da1e3a87f851c4d.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/bf822060ea8c556d0da1e3a87f851c4d.avif","width":1200,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2711#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Deep-sea mining plan off American Samoa draws criticism"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/","name":"Hawaii Moving Insider","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/590d72f16cb0f571fd45812a3c7ea1d0","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com"],"url":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2711"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2711\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}