Obama plans to create world's Largest Marine Protected area

The White House says that President Barack
Obama will expand a national monument off
the coast of Hawaii, creating the world’s
largest marine protected area.
Obama‘s proclamation will quadruple in size a
monument originally created by President
George W. Bush in 2006. The
Papahanaumokuakea Marine National
Monument will contain some 582,578 square
miles, more than twice the size of Texas.
Obama will travel to the monument next week
to mark the designation and cite the need to
protect public lands and waters from climate
change.
The designation bans commercial fishing and
any new mining, as is the case within the
existing monument. Recreational fishing will
be allowed through a permit, as will be
scientific research and the removal of fish and
other resources for Native Hawaiian cultural
practices. Some fishing groups have voiced
concerns about what an expansion of the
marine national monument would mean for
their industry.
Sean Martin, the president of the Hawaii
Longline Association, said he was
“disappointed” by Hawaii Gov. David Ige’s
decision to support expanding the monument.
He said the monument’s expansion would be
based on political and not scientific reasons.
Hawaii’s longline fishing fleet supplies a large
portion of the fresh tuna and other fish
consumed in Hawaii. Martin has previously
estimated the fleet catches about 2 million
pounds of fish annually from the proposed
expansion area.
The White House is describing the expansion
as helping to protect more than 7,000 species
and improving the resiliency of an ecosystem
dealing with ocean acidification and warming.
A fact sheet previewing the announcement
states that the expanded area is considered a
sacred place for Native Hawaiians.
Shipwrecks and downed aircraft from the
Battle of Midway in World War II dot the
expansion area. The battle marked a major
shift in the war. Obama will travel to the
Midway Atoll to discuss the expansion.
With the announcement, Obama will have
created or expanded 26 national monuments.
The administration said Obama has protected
more acreage through national monument
designations than any other president.
The White House said the expansion is a
response to a proposal from Democratic Sen.
Brian Schatz and prominent Native Hawaiian
leaders. The federal government will also give
Hawaii’s Department of Natural Resources
and Office of Hawaiian Affairs a greater role in
managing the monument, an arrangement
requested by Schatz and Gov. David Ige.By Chibabynaija2