Lingle promotes
NW Hawaiian Isle studies
Sound management and advanced scientific research of the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands can benefit the entire state, Gov. Linda Lingle told marine and wildlife experts yesterday.
"The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands represent an opportunity to study and to understand island geology," Lingle said. "Our isolation and high rate of indigenous species make Hawaii an ideal location to study evolutionary biology, coral reef biology and island biology."
Lingle spoke to researchers attending a three-day workshop aimed at examining research and monitoring strategies for the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It was convened by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Sanctuary Program.
The islands, where more than 70 percent of the nation's coral reefs are found, also are home to endangered Hawaiian monk seals, sea turtles, albatrosses and other birds, and species of fish, algae and invertebrates found nowhere else.
A December 2000 executive order signed by President Clinton set aside 84 million acres of ocean around the archipelago as the Northwestern Hawaiian Island Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve, the largest protected area ever established in the United States.
Since then, various agencies have been working to have the Reserve designated as a National Marine Sanctuary under federal law. Advocates say the designation will provide better management for the area.
A management plan would cover preservation of the coral and regulate fishing in the waters off the 10 mostly uninhabited islets and atolls extending 1,200 miles northwest of the main Hawaiian Islands.
Lingle said it was important for researchers to look at how the islands have been managed by native Hawaiians.
"We must consider the traditional management measures as we discuss how to preserve and manage these islands in the modern age." she said.
Randall Kosaki, research coordinator for the reserve, said he was pleased with Lingle's support for preservation efforts. He called the archipelago's pristine, undisturbed environment a yardstick by which officials can measure current preservation efforts elsewhere.