The key exposed areas are near the middle of the Pacific ocean.
This week it was reported that the US is recommending policy adjustments that would allow commercial fishing in two marine monuments or protected areas located in the middle of the Pacific ocean.
The Pacific Remote Islands and Rose Atoll have been recommended for reduction by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke in a report to the President. He proposed amending the proclamations for 10 monuments, largely to allow for commercial activities restricted in these areas.
The two areas are centrally located in the Pacific ocean and would expose our seas to unwanted and undesirable large scale commercial fisheries.
Rose Atoll Marine created in 2009 by President Bush, protects 13,400 square miles of rare and endangered marine animals and seabirds, including giant clams, parrotfishes, sharks, whales the largest ever of nesting turtles in American Samoa—as well as the Rose Atoll Wildlife Refuge, created in 1973 to protect the rose-colored corals for which it was named.
Pacific Remote Islands created by President Bush in 2009 and enlarged by President Obama in 2014, the Pacific Ocean 490,000-square-milemonument is the world’s largest marine conservation area and one of the last refuges protecting many animals and fish, including turtles, sharks, dolphins, whales, parrotfish, large grouper, and pearl oysters.
The exposure of the two marine national monuments in the Pacific has caused an uproar among conservationists worldwide.
“This recommendation runs counter to the views of millions of Americans and the overwhelming global consensus on ocean conservation,” said M. Sanjayan, CEO of Conservation International. “The world understands that we need more protection of our oceans, not less. Just in the past two months, we have seen major new commitments from Canada, Colombia, Chile and the Cook Islands expanding marine protections in their waters. These nations understand that healthy oceans are critical for productive fisheries and economic growth. The Administration’s proposed rollback is out of step with that reality.”
The two monuments which are neighboring our shores in Samoa brings it home once again the vulnerabilities faced by our islands as a result of decisions made by those far removed from our realities.
Our ocean resources are already being threatened by climate change, overfishing in the high seas and lack of monitoring due to low capacity of our own exclusive economic zones. The preservation of Rose Atoll and the Pacific Remote Islands monuments provided much needed monitoring by the US coast guard and affiliated authorities – resources which we do not have available to our small island developing states.
Exposing these two monuments – right near our own EEZ and in the middle of the Pacific ocean, exposes the rest of our oceans to commercial fishing activities which will not only threaten our resources, our livelihoods but our own rights to the ocean which rightfully belongs to the islands we reside in. Never has state sovereignty been more of a pertinent issue until now – when decisions are made by others about our resources and our oceans without our consent. The environmental repercussions of colonialism have never been so apparent until now.
The final decision on these areas rests with President Trump.