Proposed expansion of the

Pacifc Remote Islands Marine National Monument

July 29, 2014
On June 17, 2014, at the Our Ocean conference hosted by Secretary of State John Kerry,
President Barack Obaa announced his intention to e!"and the e!istin# boundaries of the
Paci$c %eote &slands 'arine (ational 'onuent )P%&'('*+ ,stablished by -eor#e .+
Bush in 2009, the onuent is /ithin the 0+S+ ,!clusi1e ,conoic 2one ),,2* and
currently consists of 3 uninhabited island or atoll co"le!es ).ake, Jar1is, 4o/land and
Baker &slands, Johnston 5toll, and Kin#an %eef and Palyra 5toll* "lus the ocean
surroundin# each )the li#ht #reen s6uares sho/n in the a"*+ 7he nearest of these 0+S+
territories is Palyra 5toll, located a""ro!iately 1,000 iles south/est of the ain
4a/aiian &slands+ President Obaa has "ro"osed e!"andin# the si8e of the onuent+
9ull e!"ansion to the ed#e of the 0+S+ ,,2 for each area is sho/n in tur6uoise blue in the
a" belo/+
The proposed expansion would not afect any other marine national monuments
including Papahnaumokukea Marianas Trench or Rose !toll" The President
has proposed expanding only the Pacifc Remote Islands Marine National
Monument"
7he e!istin# Paci$c %eote &slands 'arine (ational 'onuent is sho/n in #reen s6uares: an
e!"anded onuent out 200 n to the ed#e of the 0+S+ ,,2 is sho/n in tur6uoise blue circles
around #reen bo!es+ ,!"ansion fro the e!istin# ;<=,000 s6 iles );21>,000 s6 k* to ; 733,000
s6 i );2 illion s6 k* /ould be an increase of ore than nine ties+ 7he e!"ansion /ould ake
this the lar#est net/ork of arine "rotected areas on the "lanet+

#xpanded protection to the full $%% nautical miles would ha&e strong
conser&ation and heritage 'enefts"
7hese /aters are soe of the richest areas on earth for ocean life, hoe to countless
s"ecies of seabirds, arine aals, $sh, sea turtles, corals, and other arine
in1ertebrates+
7he e!"ansion /ould safe#uard nearly 230 additional undersea ountains )called
seaounts*?areas kno/n to be hots"ots of biodi1ersity and likely hoe to thousands
of yet undisco1ered s"ecies+
Soe /ide@ran#in# s"ecies use these seaounts as sto"o1ers bet/een the 4a/aiian
&slands and other Paci$c areas+ Scienti$c studies sho/ that soe dol"hins in the ain
4a/aiian &slands are ebers of a /ide@ran#in# Paci$c "o"ulation that also fre6uents
the /aters around Palyra 5toll in the P%&'('+
4i#hly contro1ersial drillin# and inin# o"erations are bein# "lanned in siilar areas of
the Paci$c under other nationsA control, i"erilin# "riceless li1in# arine resources
li1in# there+ 7he "ro"osed arine onuent e!"ansion /ould "rotect the Paci$c
%eote &slands and atolls fro "otential future industrial de1elo"ent, includin#
drillin# or inin#+
Burrently less than 1 "ercent of the ocean is fully "rotected+ 'any arine scientists
and conser1ation e!"erts a#ree that to ensure the health and "roducti1ity of our
oceans for future #enerations, at least 20 "ercent of the ocean needs to be fully
"rotected in arine reser1es+ 4istorically ost of the ocean /as inaccessible to "eo"le,
but odern technolo#y has chan#ed that, eliinatin# the de facto Cno@takeA areas that
e!isted "re1iously+ Just as ancient 4a/aiians set aside "eranently "rotected areas
fro $shin#, establishin# arine reser1es today ackno/led#es the need to "rotect
"ortions of the ocean fro use+
Scienti$c studies sho/ that arine reser1es are uch ore eDecti1e at "rotectin#
biodi1ersity and "roducin# ore $sh if they are lar#e, endurin#, and "rotected fro
$shin#, inin# or the reo1al of other natural resources+ %eser1es /ith these
characteristics contain e!"onentially hi#her "ercenta#es of $sh and lar#e "redators,
si#ns of a healthy ecosyste+ 9ish "rotected in arine reser1es tend to #ro/ older and
lar#er and "roduce ore youn# that seed adEacent areas o"en to $shin#+
Protectin# these critical ocean habitats and s"ecies ay bene$t $sheries since arine
reser1es can hel" re"lenish soe de"leted $sheries+ 7his occurs throu#h increased
re"roduction /ithin reser1es, lar1al distribution, and $sh s"illo1er that bene$ts
adEacent, un"rotected areas+
Scienti$c research has also sho/n that biodi1ersity and healthy, abundant li1in#
arine resources ake ocean ecosystes ore resilient to other stressors includin#
ocean /arin# and in1asi1e s"ecies+ 5ctin# no/ to "rotect lar#e, "roducti1e
ecosystes is the best /ay to ensure lon#er@ter sur1i1al of ocean life for the future+
#xpansion of the marine monument to $%% nautical miles would ha&e minimal
impact and would pro&ide extraordinary protection to these special and
important places"
7he islands and atolls are uninhabited other than a sall ilitary o"eration: they ha1e
been uninhabited for ost of their history+ 7he islands, atolls and /aters around the
reain soe of the ost undisturbed areas on the "lanet, and their "rotection /ould
aDect 1ery fe/ current users+ (o subsistence $shin# or #atherin# occurs in the area+ 5
iniscule aount of recreational $shin# is allo/ed and is restricted to s"eci$c "laces
or by s"ecial "erit+ 7his $shin# could continue /ith inial i"act+
7he 0+S+ distant@/ater coercial $shin# Feet, based in 4a/aiAi, is the only industry
currently o"eratin# in this area, and they $sh near the ed#es of 0+S+ Eurisdiction+ &n a
ty"ical year, the Feet relies on this re#ion for only ;3 "ercent of its total annual catch+
7he Feet could re"lace the catch by akin# sall shifts in $shin# acti1ity, thereby
conser1in# this entire set of reote areas as arine /ilderness+
7here is an o"erational 0+S+ ilitary base on .ake &sland+ .ake &sland is strictly oD@
liits to non@ilitary "ersonnel+ 'ilitary acti1ities and the ri#ht of Ginnocent "assa#eH
are "eritted /ithin the e!istin# onuent, and they should be "eritted /ithin an
e!"anded arine onuent as /ell+
The President has clear authority to protect !merica(s special places 'y
executi&e action" Presidents of 'oth parties ha&e routinely used this power"
The )rand *anyon was originally protected as a monument 'y President
Theodore Roose&elt" Most recently President )eorge +" ,ush created four
marine national monuments including PRIMNM"