Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve established

December 8, 2000

U.S. President Bill Clinton issued an executive order establishing the 84-million-acre Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve, expanding upon efforts to preserve these remote islands, atolls and submerged lagoons, which date back to the 1906 designation of the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge.

However, the action ran counter to a November plea from the National Audubon Society, which recommended that Clinton create a national monument instead of placing the area under the purview of the U.S. Department of Commerce. "Establishing a marine sanctuary, rather than a national monument would give jurisdiction of the reef to an agency whose stewardship has resulted in the overfishing of 42 percent of U.S. marine fish populations," said Eric Gilman, Pacific representative of the National Audubon Society Living Oceans Program.

"These coral islands and reefs serve as the nesting ground for 99 percent of the world's remaining Laysan albatross population, and 98 percent of the remaining black-footed albatrosses on the planet," said Jeff Wells, director of bird conservation for the National Audubon Society, on Nov. 13. "These majestic open-ocean fliers are in trouble, and the president must act to protect their only breeding grounds this week."

Reefs within the newly created reserve, according to the National Audubon Society, are also home more than 7,000 species of plants and animals, half of which are found no where else in the world. In addition, threatened and endangered species, including several sea turtles, Hawaiian Monk Seals, hundreds of kinds of fish and 14 million nesting Pacific seabirds are found in this area.

The new designation is partly the result of a Department of Commerce report commissioned in May, entitled "Discovering Earth's Final Frontier," intended to chart a course for U.S. ocean exploration.

The U.S. Departments of Commerce and the Interior held public "visioning sessions" throughout Hawaii in researching the report, and coordinated with state officials, native Hawaiian groups, the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council and the Hawaii congressional delegation. Based on the recommendations, Clinton's executive order:

• Established the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve extending along the 1,200-mile-long island chain, a total area of 99,500 square nautical miles (131,800 square statute miles), larger than Florida and Georgia combined. The reserve boundary excludes state waters, and preserves the existing Midway Atoll and Northwest Hawaiian Islands national wildlife refuges.
• Prohibited oil, gas and mineral production, the discharge or disposal of materials and the removal of coral throughout the reserve, and caps commercial and recreational fishing at current levels. Allows native Hawaiian subsistence and cultural uses to continue.
• Designated 15 "reserve preservation areas" - encompassing some 4 million acres, or roughly five percent of the reserve - where activities such as commercial and recreational fishing, anchoring and collecting or touching coral will be prohibited. These areas include habitat for endangered monk seals. The Secretary of Commerce was scheduled to seek public comment on making these preservation areas permanent.
• Directed the Secretary of Commerce to develop a reserve operations plan, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior and the governor of Hawaii, and to begin the process of incorporating the reserve into the National Marine Sanctuary Program, a network of protected areas that safeguards marine habitats and cultural sites in U.S. waters.
• Directed the Secretary of Commerce to establish the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve Council to ensure continued input from native Hawaiian, scientific, environmental, education, fishing and tourism communities into the ongoing management of the reserve. Also directed the secretary to seek public comment on the conservation measures for the reserve.

For more information about the reserve, check out the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve Web site.

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