[Coral-List] Designation of a new marine sanctuary to to protect the Pacific Remote Islands (PRI)

[Douglas Fenner]

A recent news item in the "Samoa News" that serves American Samoa, quoted
the American Samoa representative to the US Congress as saying that the
governors of the 3 US Pacific territories (Am Samoa, Guam, and the
Marianas) all opposed this.  The representative is quoted as saying that: "As
soon as we heard of the President’s announced plan to further limit the
commercial fishing that is the cornerstone of our local island economy, I
immediately and urgently responded publicly, voicing strong concerns in
Congress..."

The representative was also quoted as saying "...the President’s
announcement happened without much-needed consultation with the indigenous
peoples of affected islands, and without adequate examination of the
possible devastating affects on our economy,”

Mind you, there are NO "indigenous peoples" from or in the islands in this
National Monument, to my knowledge.  I don't think anyone has ever
permanently lived on any of the islands before Europeans arrived (they are
too small and remote).  Palmyra Island has a marine lab on it now, and Wake
has a military base.  None of the others have residents, as far as I know.
These islands are south of Hawaii and north of American Samoa, long
distances from both.  If I remember, the islands consist of Palmyra,
Jarvis, Baker, Howland, Johnston, and Wake, as well as Kingman Reef north
of Palmyra.  Wake has a US military base on it, Johnston has an airport
runway and was the site of a chemical disposal unit at one time.  All are
currently part of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Remote_Islands_Marine_National_Monument
The article makes the point that some of the islands have links to
indigenous peoples of archipelagoes other than American Samoa.  My
understanding is that the coral reefs around these islands are already
protected

But these islands are certainly within the range of modern industrial
fishing boats, and Samoans are certainly the indigenous people of the
Samoas.

I'm not surprised   When NOAA was considering listing some corals under the
US Endangered Species Act, there was significant concern here, which wasn't
much allayed by the fact that NOAA listed them as "threatened" not
"endangered."  That seems to be of less concern now.

American Samoa is the site of one of the world's largest tuna canneries.  I
have no idea how much tuna is caught within the US EEZ areas around these
islands.  I believe only US fishing boats are allowed to fish in those
waters in the US EEZ outside of the monument.  As far as I know, the
territory government is the largest part of the American Samoa economy, and
the tuna cannery second largest.  I worked for the territory government for
10 years, ending 10 years ago.  When there were 2 canneries operating, they
were roughly equal to the government as segments of the local economy, I
have read.

I'm posting this so people are aware of this news story.  I know of no poll
that indicates what the public thinks of this in American Samoa.  I'm not
advocating this position, but I think it is good to be aware of different
viewpoints.

The original story that quotes the American Samoa representative is on the
newspaper website here:

https://www.samoanews.com/local-news/amata-welcomes-governors-united-stance-fishing

What do people think in Guam and the Marianas?

Cheers,  Doug

On Wed, May 17, 2023 at 12:37 PM Robert Richmond via Coral-List <
coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:

>
> The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has begun
> the scoping process to advance a designation of a new National Marine
> Sanctuary to protect the Pacific Remote Islands <
> https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/pacific-remote-islands/> to the full limit
> of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone.
> The PRI Coalition proposed a Sanctuary nomination that included
> acknowledging the ecological, cultural heritage, scientific, and historical
> significance of the Pacific Remote islands through a co-management
> structure that would include Indigenous Pacific Islanders as part of the
> decision-making process.
>
> This Sanctuary would honor the service, sacrifice, and significance of the
> Hui Panalāʻau and conserve about 777,000 square miles of highly protected
> waters, increasing protections against harmful human activities such as
> deep-sea mining and industrial fishing for generations to come.
>
> Please join leading marine scientists and cultural practitioners in
> support of establishing a new National Marine Sanctuary for the Pacific
> Remote Islands by signing the letter here <
> https://forms.gle/2WfSzt2gvjdsndyC6> by June 2nd, 2023.
>
> Marine scientists and cultural practitioners of all career levels and all
> backgrounds are welcome to sign below (e.g. undergraduate degree, Master’s
> degree, and PhDs).
>
> All Pacific voices (U.S. Pacific Islands and other Pacific Island
> countries) are also encouraged to sign the Pacific Region Support Letter
> here: https://bit.ly/3nvubE9 <https://bit.ly/3nvubE9>
>
> To learn more, visit www.protectpri.com/sanctuary <
> http://www.protectpri.com/sanctuary>.
>
>
>
> Robert H. Richmond, Ph.D.
> Research Professor and Director
> University of Hawaii at Manoa
> Kewalo Marine Laboratory
> 41 Ahui Street
> Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 USA
> Phone: 808-539-7330
> Fax: 808-599-4817
> e-mail: richmond at hawaii.edu
>
>
>
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