Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument

The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument is the largest Marine Protected Area in the world and was named by the American television show Good Morning America and newspaper USA Today as one of the "New Seven Wonders of the World" ^[1]. A new native Hawaiian name will be chosen by state residents.^[2]

The monument supports 7,000 species, one quarter of which are endemic. Prominent species include the threatened Green Sea Turtle and the endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal, Caretian Woodpecker, and Hawaiian Mouse. According to NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, populations of spiny lobster have not recovered from an oceanographic ecosystem regime shift that affected the North Pacific during the late 1980s and early 1990s^[3] which reduced populations of a variety species, including seabirds and monk seals. According to the proclamation, by 2011, commercial fishing will terminate. The area will be promoted as a tourism destination, where visitors will be permitted to undertake such activities as sport fishing, snorkeling, diving, etc.^[4]

As the 75th National Monument of the United States, it preserves much of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands under the Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)^[5].

The monument covers roughly 140,000 square miles (360,000 km²) of reefs, atolls and shallow and deep sea (out to 50 miles offshore) in the Pacific Ocean — larger than all of America's National Parks combined.^[6] It contains approximately 10 percent of the tropical shallow water coral reef habitat (i.e., 0 to 100 fathoms) in U.S. territory. ^[7]. It is slightly larger than Australia's Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, larger than the country of Greece, and just slightly smaller than Montana. About 132,000 square miles of the monument were already part of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve or the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge. NOAA is responsible for the oceanic areas of the new monument; the Fish and Wildlife Service will continue responsibility for the land areas.^[8] An emergency landing strip on Midway Atoll for trans-Pacific flights will continue to be maintained.^[2]

The islands included in the monument are all part of the State of Hawaii, except Midway Atoll, which is an unincorporated territory of the United States.

In the 1990s, the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council developed a Protected Species Zone 0 to 50 miles from shore around the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands from which longline fishing was banned to eliminate interactions with monk seals, sea turtles and seabirds. The Council also began development of a Coral Reef Ecosystem Fishery Management Plan, as a proactive measure against the potential for unregulated coral reef fisheries entering into the area, e.g., the expanding live reef food fish and aquarium fish trade.

Beginning in 2002, a public comment period began on the creation of a National Marine Sanctuary under legislation passed by Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton.^{[9] [10]}

In 2005, Governor of Hawaii Linda Lingle declared parts of the monument a state marine refuge.^[11] In April of 2006, President Bush and his wife viewed a screening of the documentary film Voyage to Kure at the White House along with its director, Jean-Michel Cousteau (son of documentary film maker Jacques-Yves Cousteau). Compelled by the film's portrayal of the flora and fauna of the region, Bush moved quickly to protect the area ^{[12][13] [14]}.

It was proclaimed by President George W. Bush on June 15, 2006 under the 1906 Antiquities Act, bypassing the normal year of consultations and halting the public input process on the eve of the dissemination of the draft environmental impact statement for the proposed Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Marine Sanctuary. This was the second use by Bush of the Antiquities Act, following the declaration of the African Burial Ground National Monument on Manhattan in February 2006.^[4] The legislated process for stakeholder involvement in the planning and management of a marine protected area had already taken five years of effort, but the abrupt establishment of the NWHI as a National Monument, rather than a Sanctuary, provided immediate and more resilient protection, revocable only by an act of the United States Congress. The plan for the monument is expected to take 18 months to develop. ^[15].

After the signing of the proclamation, Joshua Reichert (Head of Environmental Programs at the Pew Charitable Trusts, an institution which had advocated strongly for the elimination of commercial fishing^[16] explained the importance of the timely designation in an interview on the News Hour with Jim Lehrer:

Monument status is quicker; it's more comprehensive; and it's more permanent. Only an act of Congress can undo a monument designation. The sanctuary process, it takes longer; it involves more congressional input, more public debate, more hearings and meetings. And he [George W. Bush] obviously made a decision today to, actually, take a bold step and create something which is going to be immediate, that the law applies immediately to this place now.^[17]

Other environmental officials such as Stephanie Fried of Environmental Defense expressed "tremendous concern" that commercial activity, including eco-tourism and commercial fishing, could take place in the reserve, but details on the rules were not immediately available.^[18]

Frank McCoy, chair of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, said: "We are pleased the President recognizes the near pristine condition of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands waters. We believe the abundance and biodiversity of the area attests to the successful management of the NWHI fisheries by the Council the past 30 years and indicates that properly regulated fisheries can operate in the NWHI without impacting the ecosystem. The small NWHI bottomfish fishery has not and would not jeopardize the protection of the NWHI that President Bush is pursuing by designating the area a national monument." ^[19].

The National Marine Fisheries Service has published reports attesting to the health of the NWHI bottomfish stocks ^[20]. ^[21] Commercial bottomfish and pelagic fishing as well as recreational catch-and-keep and catch-and-release fishing were also deemed compatible to the goals and objectives of the proposed NWHI National Marine Sanctuary ^[22].

The NWHI accounted for approximately half of the locally landed bottomfish in Hawaii and is highly valued by local chefs and local consumers. Concerns are raised about Hawaii having to import these fish from other areas of the Pacific that do not have the resources to manage and monitor their fisheries effectively. The NWHI bottomfish fishery is a limited entry fishery, with eight active vessels, which are restricted to 60 feet in length. The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council had also proposed a very conservative catch limit for both pelagic and bottomfish taken from the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands as well as large no-take areas surrounding all of Kure and Midway Atolls, Pearl and Hermes Reef, and French Frigate Shoals. ^[23].

The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands accounts for approximately two-thirds of the waters of Hawaii, an island state with limited land resources and no continental shelf. With inclusion of the NWHI Marine National Monument, more than 65 percent of the potential shallow water coral ecosystems of the U.S. Pacific islands are now "protected," in that they ban commercial fishing but allow tourism and other activities to occur. However, as Edwin Ebisui, Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council member from Hawaii, testified before the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force in May 2006, "in spite of these efforts, our marine resources continue decline due to the cumulative effects of pollution and runoff, recreational overuse, coastal development and bad land-use practices. ... As island communities, we cannot simply close more and more of our areas to fishing and rely solely on fish imports as some advocate. By doing so would be irresponsible and would contribute to the international decline of fish populations."

• United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument.

Wikinews has related news:

• Bush proclaims Northwestern Hawaiian Islands a National Monument

• Remarks by President Bush on the Establishment of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Monument
• NWHI Sustainable Fisheries [10]
• Northwestern Hawaiian Islands page, Ocean Conservancy, 15 June 2006
• NOAA website: Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument
• Google Earth Link - Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument