Resolution wants proper recognition of Challenger Deep site

Rep. Joseph Palacios (R-Saipan) has pre-filed a resolution urging the accurate location attribution of Challenger Deep or the Marianas Trench in order to create widespread awareness of the CNMI, Guam, and Micronesia.

Palacios, in his House Resolution 17-102, said that by having this accurate location attribution, the region will be able to secure potential economic benefits for the CNMI, Guam and Micronesia “whose homeland has encompassed the Marianas Trench for thousands of years.”

Among these benefits is financial and royalties from National Geographic, Hollywood director James Cameron and others.

Challenger Deep, at 35,755 feet, is the deepest known point in the world. Its depth surpasses the height of Mt. Everest by an incredible 1 mile. It has been and continues to be one of the most newsworthy of the Earth’s natural features to be explored in the last 60 years.

Palacios, in his five-page resolution, said National Geographic and Hollywood director James Cameron and similar individuals and entities, their production partners, content distributors, financial partners, licensees and licenses, have established potentially lucrative business ventures by exploring Challenger Deep.

He said no known residual structure or stakeholder plan has been established, offered or required by these entities, on behalf of the Micronesian people.

Palacios said Guam has always served as a launching point for the exploration of Challenger Deep as it lies only 200 nautical miles from Guam’s coastline, beginning in 1958 with the first exploration by Jacques Piccard of Switzerland and the U.S. Navy, resulting in a successful dive by the bathyscaphe Trieste on Jan. 23, 1960.

“Additional survey of the lexicon of communications online and in print suggests a critical lack of attribution to Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and Micronesia as the region encompassing the location of the Challenger Deep, which serves to inhibit Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and Micronesia from deriving potential economic benefits from their geographic location in relation to the Trench,” the resolution says.

The CNMI, as a Commonwealth of the U.S., and Guam, as a U.S. territory, are excluded from establishing and collecting fees directly from any exploration of the Marianas Trench and Challenger Deep.

In Nepal, for example, they charge fees from $25,000 for a one-member expedition to $70,000 for seven-member expeditions to reach Mt. Everest.

“The people of the CNMI, Guam and Micronesia deserve to be compensated by the exploitation of their natural treasures and resources inasmuch as others, such as National Geographic and James Cameron, will surely benefit,” it adds.

House Speaker Eli Cabrera (R-Saipan) plans to call for a House session next week, and Palacios said yesterday he will introduce his HR 17-102.