Obama designates huge expansion of the existing Pacific
Remote Islands National Marine Monument creating the world’s largest area protected from commercial
fishing!
On Thursday September 25th,
President Obama expanded the size of America’s largest marine reserve. In doing so,
he created the world’s largest marine area that is protected from commercial
fishing activities. This area, called
the Pacific Remote Islands National Monument, was established in 2009 by
President Bush. It is located in the
central Pacific and now encompasses over 490,000 square miles (about the size
of three Californias).
Sea Port’s questions and thoughts
about this historic event:
·
Coincidentally, on
the same day the International Seafood Sustainability foundation (ISSF) stated
that Pacific Bigeye Tuna are overfished.
Will Obama’s new marine reserve
expansion actually help the Bigeye Tuna stocks in the central Pacific recover
to a non-overfished status?
·
The Western
Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council opposed the expansion of the monument area stating that economic hardships
would befall the central Pacific tuna/pelagic fishers. Will
this expansion actually increase catches and economic prosperity in the long
run for these fishers as highly migratory species perhaps recover in the protected
areas and then move outside of the safe havens?
·
Will this presidential action encourage other nations
to expand or create additional marine protected areas? Please see our
past Go Blue! Seafood Sustainability Blog for Sea Port’s views on expanding MPAs.
President Obama’s historic
expansion of the Pacific Remote Island’s National Monument may cause a type of
“Butterfly Effect” that produces a cascading of positive events that will help propel
us all closer to sustainably managing the world’s precious marine resources for
the benefit of current and future generations.
Go Blue! and eat more
seafood………………Sincerely, David Glaubke – Sea Port’s Directory of Sustainability
Initiatives
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