U.S. moves to protect
NW Hawaiian Islands

Bush administration officials build
on a Clinton executive order

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By Diana Leone
dleone@starbulletin.com

The U.S. Department of Commerce has announced a "four-pronged" plan to protect the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, which extend 1,200 miles northwest from the main Hawaiian Islands.

Key in yesterday's announcement is the Bush administration's acceptance of a Clinton administration executive order that created the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve in January 2001.

The reserve's supporters had wondered aloud over the past year whether the long review by the new administration signaled its doubts about strong protection for the unique coral reef ecosystem.

"We are very pleased that the reserve operations plan has been released," said Cha Smith, executive director of Kahea, the Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance, a group instrumental in establishment of the reserve. "Now we can move forward."

The release of the reserve plan is the first "prong," reserve coordinator Robert Smith said yesterday at a Honolulu news conference. The second will be a series of public "scoping" meetings April 9-19 to refine what people want of a National Marine Sanctuary.

The third and fourth prongs are the release Monday of a Final Fishery Management Plan for Coral Reef Ecosystems of the Western Pacific Region and rules regarding the harvest of precious corals, said Mike Laurs of the National Marine Fisheries Service. Public comment on all the measures will be accepted for the next 60 days.

Laurs emphasized that the fishery plan, developed by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, is "very, very exciting because it is the first ecosystem-based fishery plan."

Smith said the reserve has all along been intended as a "placeholder" for the more permanent designation of National Marine Sanctuary.

There remain conflicts between the Westpac proposal and the Clinton executive order, Laurs and Smith acknowledged. However, it is now clarified that where there is a conflict, the stricter rules of the executive order prevail, Smith said.

A key difference between the two visions is that the Westpac Fishery Management Plan proposes allowing the harvest of precious corals -- to be used for jewelry manufacture -- from the Northwest Hawaiian Islands. The reserve plan forbids it.

Until a sanctuary plan is worked out, bottom fishermen who fish the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are "grandfathered" in at their current catch rates, which have run about 300,000 pounds a year, with a value of $1 million, Laurs said.

Schedule of hearings Here is the schedule of meetings to seek public input on creating a Northwest Hawaiian Islands National Marine Sanctuary to oversee protection of the area: >> April 9, Waianae District Park Multipurpose Building, 85-601 Farrington Hwy., 6 p.m. >> April 10, Heeia Kea State Park Visitors Center, 46-465 Kamehameha Hwy., Kaneohe, 6 p.m. >> April 11, Department of Commerce Building, Room 1414, 14th and Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, D.C., 1 p.m. >> April 11, Maui Arts & Cultural Center, McCoy Studio Theatre, One Cameron Way, Kahului, 6 p.m. >> April 12, Kulana Oiwi Halau, Lot 24 Maunaloa Hwy., Kaunakakai, 6 p.m. >> April 15, Japanese Cultural Center, Manoa Room, 2454 S. Beretania St., 6 p.m. >> April 16, Radisson Kauai Beach Resort, Jasmine Ballroom, 4331 Kauai Beach Drive, Lihue, 6 p.m. >> April 17, University of Hawaii-Hilo, Marine Science Building, 200 W. Ka- wili St., Hilo, 6 p.m. >> April 18, King Kamehameha Kona Beach Hotel, Kamakahonu Ballroom, 75-5660 Palani Road, Kailua-Kona, 6 p.m. >> April 19, Lanai Public Library, Frazier Avenue, Lanai City, 6 p.m. Star-Bulletin staff