Obama’s proclamation quadrupled in size a monument originally created by President George W. Bush in 2006.
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Obama will visit the protected area on September 1 to draw attention to the threat that climate change poses to oceans, traveling to Midway Atoll – a remote coral reef that was the site of a pivotal World War Two battle and is now known for its sea turtles, monk seals, and millions of seabirds.
Obama was born in Hawaii and spent a large part of his childhood there.
Banned from the protected area will be the exploitation of any and all resources, whether through commercial fishing or the mining of minerals, though native populations may continue fishing with special permits.
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.
Some fishing groups are concerned that an expansion of the marine national monument will hurt their industry.
Papahānaumokuākea, located off the Northwest Hawaiian Islands, is home to 7,000 of some of the world’s most precious species, a quarter of which are completely native to the Hawaiian Islands alone.
President Barack Obama expanded the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (say that five times fast!) today which lies in the waters of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
The regional council that manages USA waters in the Pacific Islands voiced disappointment with Obama’s decision, saying it “serves a political legacy” rather than a conservation benefit.
The council recommends catch limits and other steps created to sustain fisheries.
This step also builds on a tradition of marine protection in Hawaiian waters and world-class, well managed fisheries, including a longline fishing fleet that the White House says is a global leader in sustainable practices.
“Closing 60 per cent of Hawaii’s waters to commercial fishing, when science is telling us that it will not lead to more productive local fisheries, makes no sense”, said Edwin Ebiusi Jr., chairman of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council “Today is a sad day in the history of Hawaii’s fisheries and a negative blow to our local food security”.
The Pew Charitable Trusts helped lead the push to expand the monument.
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”. The administration has already placed more square-miles under protection from development through monument status or other measures than any other USA president.
“Native Hawaiian culture considers the Monument and the adjacent area a sacred place. Additionally, 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”.
His journey to Midway Atoll, a former naval base that is now a rarely visited refuge, is aimed at sending a hopeful message.
With the announcement, Obama will have created or expanded 26 national monuments.
He has now used his executive authority under the 1906 Antiquities Act to protect more than 222ha of federal land and water, more than double what any of his predecessors have done.
The White House said the expansion is a response to a proposal from Democratic Sen.
In recognition of the value of Papahānaumokuākea to Native Hawaiians, and in keeping with President Obama’s commitment to elevating the voices of Native peoples in resource management, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker announced that their departments will soon sign an agreement with Hawaii’s Department of Natural Resources and Office of Hawaiian Affairs providing for a greater management role as a trustee in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, an arrangement requested by Senator Brian Schatz and Governor David Ige.
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The Council’s resolution also requests that the US government address the resources and tools needed to effectively manage and administer an expanded monument and to specify the technical, scientific, and socioeconomic costs and benefits from monument expansion on marine resources, residents of Hawaii, and the nation.
