Preserving our oceans

Managaha Island. Bird Island. Sasanhaya Bay. Lighthouse Reef. Forbidden Island. Lau Lau Bay. Tanke Beach. What do they all have in common? Although they go by different names like “conservation area,” “sanctuary,” or “reserve,” these are all considered “Marine Protected Areas.” The CNMI Division of Fish and Wildlife, in conjunction with the Division of Environmental Quality and the Coastal Resource Management Office, has recently begun a two-year effort to improve the management and effectiveness of our Marine Protected Areas, also known as “MPAs.”

Here in the CNMI, we have six MPAs, five on Saipan and one on Rota. MPAs, by definition, are areas of the ocean designated by law to conserve part or all of the environment in that area. You can think of MPAs as parks in the water. MPAs can range from “fully protected,” no-take areas (we have four of these in the CNMI), to “partially protected” areas where fishing, collecting, and other extractive activities are in fact allowed (we have two of these).

Managaha Marine Conservation Area, Bird Island Sanctuary, and Forbidden Island Sanctuary (including Tanke Beach) are all fully protected no-take areas. No fishing, collecting, or taking of any plants or animals, dead or alive, is allowed at these locations. Technically, you’re not even allowed to bring home the sand on your slippers! (Don’t worry, that won’t ever be enforced!) Think of a no-take MPA like a museum: you can go in for a visit, look around, and take pictures, but you can’t take ANYTHING home with you.

But we also have two MPAs where you can take things from! These are the Lighthouse Reef Trochus Reserve and the Lau Lau Bay Sea Cucumber Reserve. These areas protect only a single species, so you can legally fish for other species in these areas, as long as you follow the general fishing and collecting regulations that apply islandwide. The Trochus (alileng tulumpo) and sea cucumber reserves are interesting areas because the animals they protect, the Trochus snail (the large, pink and white cone-shaped snail) and the sea cucumber (soft, snake-like creatures that live on the bottom), are also protected by an islandwide moratorium. You aren’t allowed to collect sea cucumber or trochus anywhere in the CNMI! The reserves are in place to protect a population of these creatures in the future if and when the moratorium is lifted. For maps of all of our MPAs and for all of the rules and regulations related to fishing, using throw nets, and collection of any marine animals, stop by DFW in Lower Base any day and ask to talk to a conservation officer.

There are many ways to manage our coastal and ocean resources to protect them against over-harvesting and other activities that could cause damage them. Some examples are prohibiting or limiting certain types of fishing gear (like the gill net ban), limiting the size or number of fish or other creatures that can be taken, or having certain seasons where harvesting is allowed (like the deer hunting seasons). Another way is to have special areas of the ocean protected as MPAs. Research has shown that the most effective way to manage marine resources requires a combination of both types of management. Marine Protected Areas can do some things that gear restrictions, size limits, and seasons can’t do. They can protect entire ecosystems as opposed to protecting a single species or protecting against damage caused by a single type of gear.

It helps if you think of an ecosystem like a human body; there a bunch of parts that all work together to keep it functioning. Although we can survive without some of the parts (for example, a friend of yours loses a hand in an unfortunate machete accident), we might not function as well. And in times of stress, (your friend loses his job and has to go out and find work), not having all the parts in place could be a disadvantage. But there are certain parts (our brain, heart, lungs, etc.) that we absolutely couldn’t function without. If systems of marine protected areas are designed well, we can use MPAs to protect the brain, heart, and lungs of our coral reef ecosystem! A biologist would call this “creating a well-designed network of marine protected areas.”

DFW has recently begun efforts to analyze our existing marine protected areas to see how effective they are, and to ensure that we are, in fact, protecting the brain, heart and lungs of our coral reef ecosystem. One important part of this process will be gathering the input of the “stakeholders,” the people in the general public who use and appreciate our oceans. DFW, DEQ, and CRMO all recognize that the oceans belong to the people, and that we manage them for the good of the people. So if you get stopped by someone from these agencies and they ask for your input, or if you see an advertisement for a public hearing, please get involved! The only way we can effectively manage our oceans is if we have the involvement, cooperation, and support of the people who use them every day.

As we begin the process of analyzing our existing marine protected areas, we will be asking some important, big-picture questions: What are the overall goals of our marine protected areas? Are we achieving those goals? What things do we have to measure to determine whether or not we are achieving those goals? What things are we currently measuring? What can be done to make our existing system of MPAs more effective?

Finally, I would like to say a word about following the rules in our Marine Protected Areas. MPAs can only work if they are actually protected. In other words, if people don’t follow the rules, we don’t get to reap the benefits, and everyone will suffer as a result. MPAs where there is no enforcement are called “paper parks” because they look like parks on paper (on a map) but they aren’t really parks because people don’t follow the rules. Imagine a museum that allowed people to take the artifacts home, or that didn’t have security guards to ensure that people didn’t steal! After a short while, there wouldn’t be much left for people to enjoy and benefit from. It’s the same for our MPAs. To ensure that this doesn’t happen, the agencies are increasing both education (like this article and ads in the Island Locator) and enforcement. DFW conservation officers regularly patrol the island’s MPAs, looking for anyone violating the regulations. Enforcement data shows that over the past three years, 52 people were caught illegally harvesting in one of the CNMI’s MPAs. For these violations, they can be fined up to $10,000! Or they may have to serve up to a year in jail. The maximum fines are different depending on which MPA you are caught in, but believe me, these guys mean business. But it shouldn’t be necessary to have fines and the possibility of jail time for people to follow the rules in our MPAs. We need to start to enforce these areas ourselves, as these are our marine resources and ours to protect. If you see someone breaking the rules and causing damage to the heart, brain or lungs of our marine ecosystems, call DFW at 664-6001 to inform the conservation officers. If you know them, go up to them and explain to them that our ecosystems need these specially protected organs to function. (Greg Moretti)

(Greg Moretti is the Marine Protected Areas Specialist for DFW. For more information on MPAs, see www.mpa.gov. For details on MPAs in the CNMI, check out the DFW website at www.dfw.gov.mp, or email Greg at moretti@gmail.com)