August 15, 2016 โ HONOLULU โ The vast ocean surrounding the remote western portion of the Hawaiian archipelago has become the focus of a fierce debate in the state where lawmakers and longline fishers have been pitted against conservationists and Native Hawaiian groups who hope the president will designate it as the worldโs largest marine reserve.
Earlier this summer, US Sen. Brian Schatz sent a proposal to President Barack Obama to greatly expand the Papahฤnaumokuฤkea Marine National Monument (PMNM), an existing protected area established 10 years ago by President George W. Bush.
The current monument covers 139,800 square miles in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, an area nearly the size of California, and is home to some of the worldโs most extensive coral populations, at least 7,000 marine species, and 22 types of seabirds. When it was established in June 2006, it was the largest protected area in the world, but now ranks 10th.
Under Schatzโs proposal the monument would expand to 582,578 square miles โ four times its current size โ and would include almost the entire exclusive economic zone of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. While advocates say the expanded protection will better safeguard endangered species, preserve biodiversity, and fight climate change, opponents argue that it would significantly restrict their access to certain fish and hinder the stateโs economic well-being.
In May, 30 state lawmakers, including Hawaii House Speaker Joe Souki and Senate President Ron Kouchi, signed a letter asking Obama not to expand the monument and questioning his authority to use the Antiquities Act. The law, passed in 1906, gives the president the power to designate national monuments with the stroke of a pen, and is among the most controversial tools used to set aside land.
โWithout sufficient scientific and empirical data and evidence, this arbitrary expansion would be in direct violation of the Antiquities Act,โ the letter read.
The lawmakers said an expansion of the preserve would cut Hawaiiโs commercial fishing industry by 8% and would mean 2.16 million fewer pounds of fish, resulting in an estimated $6.8 million loss.