Three Massive New Protected Areas in the Pacific Benefit Seabirds, Marine Life

Black-footed Albatross, Photo: Clipart.com

President George Bush announced yesterday the creation of three new Marine National Monuments that will protect vast areas of the Pacific Ocean. In total, the Mariana Trench, Pacific Remote Islands, and Rose Atoll Marine National Monuments, will cover over 195,000 acres of ocean under U.S. jurisdiction, larger than any area previously protected by a U.S. President. The protections will surround 22 islands and atolls, all of which are significant for a broad range of marine wildlife, including seabirds and turtles. The President made the designations under the executive authority granted him by the Antiquities Act, meaning that they cannot be altered by Congress.

The designations will prohibit most commercial fishing in protected waters up to 50 nautical miles around the islands, and place severe restrictions on recreational fishing. An exception was made for fishing in the rich waters above the Mariana Trench, and the protected zone around Rose Atoll was limited to 12 nautical miles. Seafloor mining will also be banned, and the public will be barred from entry onto the islands themselves.

“We are extremely pleased with the new monument designations,” said Dr. Jessica Hardesty, Seabird Program Director for American Bird Conservancy. “These far-flung and isolated islands are home to some of the largest and most diverse seabird nesting colonies in the world. Protecting these sites and the nearby waters where the birds feed is critical to their conservation.”

The Pacific islands to the south and west of Hawaii (Wake, Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, and Palmyra Atoll), provide particularly important nesting and migration stopover habitats for birds. Populations of Sooty Terns, Lesser Frigatebirds, and Masked and Red-footed Boobies can reach staggering densities at certain times of year. Additionally, small numbers of highly imperiled bird species, including the Polynesian Storm-Petrel, Audubon’s Shearwater, and Black-footed Albatross, will benefit from the protection of these remote atolls, as will the globally vulnerable Bristle-thighed Curlew, which winters in the islands.

American Bird Conservancy had submitted comments to the White House Council on Environmental Quality in favor of the designations, attended town hall meetings, and encouraged public support in an October Bird News Network bulletin.

The formation of these new protected areas comes on the heels of President Bush’s 2006 designation of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, which covers nearly 140,000 square miles surrounding the Northwest Hawaiian Islands. American Bird Conservancy congratulates the Administration on the creation of these four Marine National Monuments.