NOAA Review - Federal Protection No Help For New HI National Monument In Face Of Warming, Acid Seas

[hatrack]

A remote location and special federal protection can't shield a new Hawaiian national monument from debris, invasive species and climate change, according to a new report. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's peer-reviewed report is aimed at providing a baseline for monitoring the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument and identifying management priorities.

The 1,100-mile chain of islands in the Papahanaumokuakea monument is home to almost 70 percent of U.S. tropical near-shore corals, endangered monk seals and sea turtles. A quarter of the 7,000 or so species that live there are unique to the islands. The report found monk seals in significant decline, with their reproductive success falling by about 60 percent over the past 50 years. NOAA said a 2006 recovery plan for the seal could reverse that decline.

President George W. Bush created the monument two years ago, establishing one of the largest marine conservation areas in the world. The move won Bush rare praise from environmentalists and was followed by the designation of three additional Pacific monuments last winter. Bush applied the highest level of protection to the Papahanaumokuakea monument, preventing all fishing and mining. But the remote location of both monuments poses some management challenges.

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The monument also faces ongoing threats from climate change, ocean acidification, rising sea surface temperatures and sea level rise. "Global issues of concern arising outside monument boundaries, such as marine debris, ocean acidification and invasive species, degrade fragile monument living resources and habitats," said Aulani Wilhelm, the monument superintendent.

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http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2009/04/03/03greenwire-debris-climate-change-threaten-new-hawaiian-mo-10430.html