Saving Seafood

Regional fishing body opposes expansion of Hawaii monument

June 14, 2016 — A regional fishing body is opposing the proposed expansion of United States protected waters around Hawaii.

Members of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council have raised their concerns about the sustainability of local fishing if Hawaii’s Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument was expanded.

The proposal would increase the protected zone fivefold and could reduce the available fishing grounds in the US exclusive economic zone waters around Hawaii from 63 percent to 15 percent.

Read the full story at Radio New Zealand

Petition: Save Hawaii Fisheries

June 2, 2016 — Petition the President of the United States to Not expand the outer boundary of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Moument from 50 nautical miles out to 200 nautical miles around the Northwest Hawaiian Islands.   This will have a devastating impact on small business, fisheries, and culture without justification or public input. Our Kauai Fishermen run the risk of loosing middle bank and key fish grounds.

Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument (PMNM).

Established in 2006 by Pres. George W. Bush, this marine protected area (MPA) currently encompasses the Northwestern Hawaiian Island (NWHI) chain, covering an area 100 miles wide and 1200 miles long. It sits within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Hawaii’s waters, a swath of ocean that’s 400 miles wide and includes both the PMNM and the Main Hawaiian Islands.

Half of the bottomfish for Hawaii and most of the lobster came from the area within the PMNM, prior to the establishment of the monument. Fishing boats operated in that area for decades with very little ecological impact. Early in the 21st Century, it was decided that the near-pristine condition of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands should be protected indefinitely, and that was the rationale for creating the PMNM.

Now there are groups that are asking Pres. Obama to expand the PMNM to include the entire EEZ around the NWHI. Imagine an area that would be as long as the distance between the borders of Canada and Mexico, and wider than the state of California.

Read the full petition at Change.org

Hawaii Lawmakers To Obama: Don’t Grow Marine Monument

May 13, 2016 — Amid the flurry of final votes on hundreds of bills last week, Hawaii lawmakers privately weighed whether to sign a letter to President Obama that Rep. James Tokioka was circulating during the last few days of the legislative session.

The letter called on the president not to consider expanding the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument, stating that “there is no scientific justification or conservation benefit in doing so.”

In all, 30 House lawmakers, including Speaker Joe Souki, signed the May 3 letter. Just days earlier, Hawaii Senate President Ron Kouchi sent Obama a nearly identical one.

This opposition, which lawmakers kept out of public view, has been overshadowed by a strong public push to expand the monument, officially designated by President George W. Bush as Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in 2007.

Read the full story at the Honolulu Civil Beat