Obama to create world's largest protected marine area off Hawaii

Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument to be expanded to more than twice the size of Texas

Associated Press in Washington

Friday 26 August 201609.46 BSTLast modified on Friday 26 August 201611.55 BST

Barack Obama is to create the world’s largest protected marine area off the coast of Hawaii, the White House has said.

The president’s proclamation will quadruple the size of a protected area originally designated by his predecessor, George Bush, in 2006. The expanded Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument will cover around 582,578 sq miles (1.5m sq km), more than twice the size of Texas.

Obama will travel to Hawaii next week to mark the designation and cite the need to protect public lands and waters from climate change.

The designation bans commercial fishing and any new mining, as is the case within the existing area. Recreational fishing will be allowed with a permit, as will scientific research and the removal of fish and other resources for native Hawaiian cultural practices.

Some fishing groups have said they are concerned about the affect of the expansion on their industry. Sean Martin, the president of the Hawaii Longline Association, said he was disappointed by the decision of Hawaii’s governor, David Ige, to support the move, claiming it was based on political, not scientific reasons.

Hawaii’s longline fishing fleet supplies a large portion of the fresh tuna and other fish consumed in Hawaii. Martin has previously estimated the fleet catches about 2m lbs (900,000kg) of fish annually from the proposed expansion area.

The White House said the expansion would help protect more than 7,000 species and improve the resilience of an ecosystem dealing with ocean acidification and warming. A fact sheet previewing the announcement states that the expanded area is considered a sacred place for native Hawaiians.

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Expansion of US marine protected zone could double world reserves

17 June 2014 Last updated at 23:08

By Matt McGrath

Environment correspondent, BBC News

The US plans to create the world's biggest marine protected area (MPA) in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

The White House will extend an existing protected area, known as the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument.

Fishing and drilling would be banned from an area that could eventually cover two million sq km.

The extended zone would double the world's fully protected marine reserves.

Rare species

The Pacific Remote Islands Area is controlled by the US and consists of seven scattered islands, atolls and reefs that lie between Hawaii and American Samoa.

Essentially uninhabited, the waters that surround these remote islands are home to a wide range of species including corals, seabirds, sharks and vegetation not found anywhere else in the world.

In 2009, President Bush declared the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, giving the islands the same level of protection as statues or cultural sites.

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