Yesterday President Obama announced the expansion of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in western Hawaii by more than 442,778 miles, quadrupling its size and creating the largest marine preserve on earth. Obama will increase the size of protected land and water area inside its borders from the current 139,797 square miles to 582,578 square miles, making it the largest protected area in the world.
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“We’re just seeing significant environmental degradation globally, and this is a huge step in changing our course”, Rand told The Huffington Post.
The designation bans commercial fishing and any new mining.
Papahānaumokuākea is home to nearly two dozen species protected by the US Endangered Species Act, from the Hawaiian monk seal to the green sea turtle. Led by The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Global Ocean Legacy program, the pro-expansion movement garnered more than 1,409,000 letters and signatures of support, including more than 1500 coral reef scientists that voiced their support during the International Coral Reef Symposium in Honolulu in June. A press statement from the Department of the Interior explains that Papahānaumokuākea’s “biological and geographic isolation, coupled with singular oceanographic and geological conditions, have produced some of the most unique and diverse ecological communities on the planet”.
Initially, the protected area covered 140,000 square miles, including 10 islands and atolls that are home to 7,000 species.
Obama will also travel to Midway Atoll, inside the protected area, to underscore the decision.
The presidential action will add to the size of a monument created by President George W. Bush in 2006.
Ashley Watts, a marine biologist, wrote that it “would not only protect critical ocean resources at a time when they’re under threat, it would also be the best thing in the long run for fishermen and lovers of Hawaii seafood”. This arrangement has been previously requested by Senator Brian Schatz and Governor Ige.
Sean Martin, the president of the Hawaii Longline Association, said his organization was disappointed Obama closed an area almost the size of Alaska without a public process. The Hawaii Longline Association said they haul two million pounds of fish from the designated area annually, the equivalent of $100 million. He has protected over 256 million acres of land and water throughout his presidency so far - more than any other administration in history.
The archipelago, whose marine habitats are home to more than 7,000 species, has received increasing levels of protection from seven different United States presidents going back to Theodore Roosevelt, who signed the Antiquities Act in 1906.
Obama travels to the area next week to mark the designation and underscore the need to protect public lands and waters from climate change.
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“We think of Papahānaumokuākea’s original designation as a catalyst, and we’re hoping it will be again”, said Seth Horstmeyer, a director with Pew’s Global Ocean Legacy project.
