The world鈥檚 largest marine sanctuary could soon be created, encompassing 340,000 square kilometres of the Pacific Ocean around the Northwest Hawaiian Islands. President George W Bush has won rare praise from environmentalists for the proposal which he is expected to unveil today.
鈥淚t鈥檚 as important as the establishment of Yellowstone National Park,鈥� says Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense, a not-for-profit campaign group.
The islands that would be included in the sanctuary are a chain of coral-ringed tops of sunken seamounts stretching 2000 kilometres to the northwest of Hawaii鈥檚 northernmost populated island, Kauai.
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All were formed by the volcanic hot spot which most recently built the big island of Hawaii. Most are uninhabited except for the Midway Atoll, which was the site of a major US Naval base and a bloody battle during the second world war. The Navy shut the base a decade ago and Midway is now a wildlife refuge and historic site.
The area is one of the most intact tropical marine ecosystems left on the planet, dominated by marine predators rather than human fishing. Over 7000 species living in the area are to be protected, including the endangered Hawaiian monk seal and threatened green sea turtles.
Sport and commerce
Although remote, conservationists have worried that development might spread to the area from the main Hawaiian islands. Previous efforts to protect it have included the creation of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve by US president Bill Clinton in late 2000, while last year Hawaiian governor Linda Lingle banned all commercial activities in state waters within three miles of any of the islands.
Bush鈥檚 plan calls for a ban on fishing for sport and commercial reasons, giving the eight fishing vessels who now work in the area five years to phase out their operations.
鈥淚t is the start of a new era of protecting places in the sea before they鈥檙e degraded beyond recognition,鈥� says Elliott Norse, president of the US Marine Conservation Biology Institute.
However, Stephanie Fried of Environmental Defense warned that 鈥渢he devil is in the details鈥� of implementation plans. She said exemptions to the ban such as allowing boats into the area for research and educational use would bring considerable human activity to the reserve. These details will be finalised after a 60-day comment period.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has already proposed bringing boats into the reserve for 400 research days per year, which could each carry up to 50 people. That would mean, for example, that 10 boats could each spend a total of 40 days in the area, or 40 boats could each spend a total 10 days. NOAA鈥檚 researchers also want to collect fish specimens.
