President Barack Obama on Friday quadrupled the size of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, making it the largest protected area in the world. But it’s caused some controversy in Hawaii.
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This 2014 photo provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology shows bleached coral at Lisianski Island in the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.
If it was part of Hawaii Tourism, the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument would be a new Hawaiian destination to attract millions. Longline commercial fishermen, who have been praised for sustainable fishing, have counted on the area for an estimated 3 to 13 percent of their annual catch of tuna, which is limited under quotas and governed by extensive conservation measures.
The four-fold boost in territory will cover an area with more than 7,000 marine species, including a coral that is the world’s oldest-known living organism at 4,265 years old. It says research shows that very large, fully protected marine reserves are necessary to rebuild fish populations and diversity of species. Recreational fishing will be allowed with a federal permit, however.
The League of Conservation Voters released a statement saying it “is a great day for our oceans”, and pointing out that Obama “has already protected more land and water than any other president in history”.
In addition, this area has great cultural significance to the Native Hawaiian community, including creation and settlement stories, and a connection to early Polynesian culture and is used to practice important activities like traditional long-distance voyaging and wayfinding.
“Existing evidence suggests that the monument’s northernmost atolls may be among the first ecosystems to be irrevocably impacted by global climate change, thus providing early indications of what we can expect to see in other locations going forward”, said Dan Polhemus, a co-author of the report, in the August 23 news release.
During his presidency, Obama made the environment issue one of his top priorities. This area also includes the USS Yorktown, which sank during the Battle of Midway in 1942 and has not been visited since it was discovered there in 1998.
A group of Native Hawaiians had first asked Obama in February to consider expanding the monument’s boundary. “Doing things the right way for the right reasons leads to better decisions, and I know the input of fishers, Hawaiian cultural practitioners, scientists, conservationists and others interested in the proposal strengthened it”.
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Within the monument expansion area, there are shipwrecks and downed aircraft from the Battle of Midway in World War II, a battle that marked a major shift in the progress of the war in favor of the Allies. Obama has been criticized for using his administrative authorities under the Antiquities Act, which allows the president to declare a national monument without congressional approval.
