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Protecting NW islands
is sensible investment

This is in response to the "Fisher family" article in the Sunday, Jan. 30 Star-Bulletin. In it Timm Timoney says, "Fishing for a living here is more precarious now. Under the current political climate, 'green groups' are trying to convert the whole northwest area of Hawaiian Islands into a sanctuary because of the coral ecosystem."

The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve was founded by executive order in 2000 to protect the fragile balance of life in this unique and vast coral ecosystem, and to designate it a sanctuary. The executive order recognized, as does Hawaiian culture, that coral reefs are the foundation of the life cycle in the ocean. Limu that grows on coral feeds the small fish that feed bigger fish that feed the people.

The process to reach sanctuary status is a tedious but thoughtful one. It includes input from the Reserve Advisory Council, which was established by the E.O. for the purpose of determining how best the area could be structured as a sanctuary. Voting council members represent commercial fishermen (limited to those nine who currently hold fishing permits for the area, including the Timoneys), recreational fishermen, the Hawaiian community, researchers, educators, conservationists and a repre- sentative of the state of Hawaii. I serve on that council and have often seen Timm at the meetings.

Ecosystem is the key word to everything. All living creatures depend on one another -- our planet is a gigantic ecosystem.

On a recent visit to Midway I was sad to see dozens of white terns, the manu-o-ku that Polynesian voyagers used to guide them to land, dead on the ground.

Scientists there explained that they died of starvation. White terns live off the small fish that swim up to the surface of the sea because of large fish below them. But with our large fish being taken by longline fishermen, the little fish don't rise to the surface as much and the white terns starve.

The endangered Hawaiian monk seal's diet includes lobster, and many scientists believe that this species is starving because a main food source has been depleted because of overfishing. The lobster has a long life cycle; it takes many years for an egg to mature into an adult with the ability to reproduce. In the 1980s and '90s, in the height of the take, lobster fishermen didn't bother to save the young or egg-bearing females, thereby causing the lobster population to crash, which eventually led to the current ban.

What I find scary is that moves are being proposed by the local fishery management council to resume their take of lobster and other fish.

These are but two examples of our natural ecosystem process but they show the interdependence and connections of life on our planet. They also illustrate the harm that can be done when we humans care more about short-term gain than long-range sustainability.

The process to reach sanctuary status requires public input. And much input has been given. Since 2000, more than 30 federal and state public hearings have been held to discuss the protection needs for the NWHI proposed sanctuary and state waters. The results of public input given to date indicate overwhelming support for conservation measures to protect the NWHI and limits placed on human-based activities, including fishing.

Hawaii residents should know that the designation process continues,and includes many opportunities for them to express how they feel. At council meetings, the public is encouraged to participate. When the draft management plan and draft environmental impact statement are released, they will be released for public review and comment, and public hearings will be held statewide. We can all determine what kind of sanctuary we want for our kupuna islands. Do we want it wasted by human take for the sake of "our economy" or will we allow it to survive as the last major coral reef ecosystem in the United States, an ecosystem that affects the entire world?

The future of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands depends on the people of Hawaii. Visit http://hawaiireef.noaa.gov/designation/welcome.html to find out more about how you can express your manao and participate in the sanctuary designation process.

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