‘Pacific voices being disrespected; process is not Pacific way’

Members of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration hosts a public hearing last Thursday evening at the American Memorial Park’s indoor theater in Garapan. (CHRYSTAL MARINO)

Majority of those who attended the first of scoping meetings being held in the CNMI to solicit comments about a plan to expand the Pacific Remote Islands National Marine Sanctuary voiced opposition to the plan, saying not only is the expansion plan a unilateral move by the federal government but is also disrespectful of Pacific voices.

A majority of the commenters, both online and present at the scoping meeting at the American Memorial Park’s indoor theater in Garapan last Thursday evening, said they wished to maintain fishing rights in the area and limit increasing military and federal takeover of the Pacific Ocean.

The meeting was presided over by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as part of a required rule to solicit public comments on he proposed Pacific Remote Island National Marine Sanctuary, which will create a 770,000-square-mile marine sanctuary in the Pacific. The area is 2,000 miles away from the Marianas. After an overview of the proposal and process goals and objectives of the sanctuary, NOAA opened the meeting for comments.

Although there were several who were in favor of the sanctuaries, majority opposed the plan. Many of the commenters that night pointed out that the sanctuary proposal is not just a unilateral proposal from President Joe Biden, but the process in which NOAA was going about with such public hearings in the past and present has left them feeling disrespected, not just because of the abrupt timing for and in such commentaries, but the way they felt their voice, and voices of neighboring islands were not being heard.

“I’ve come to so many of these meetings and it just feels so meaningless for us. When you guys leave, it’s like, ‘so what’s [going to] happen now? Are we going to have something to live with?’ You’re talking about generations to come. …Are they going to go through the same thing? Are they going to live in worry that someone somewhere is going to call D.C. and say, ‘Hey man, you know, let’s do this because it’s great for the world, it’s great for the environment,’ but you never come to talk to us before you do that. …I was just reading the process of this PRI. It started with a letter from a governor in Hawaii and was supported by some mayor, and some letter came out from PRI to Biden and now we’re here. It just doesn’t make sense. And that’s not the Pacific Island way. The Pacific Island way is we talk to each other before we get out of the circle of the Pacific Islands. …Let’s talk to each other. …It’s just disconcerting and disingenuous as Pacific Islanders,” said lawyer Rosemond Sword.

Another commenter, J.D. Tenorio told NOAA: “We need to make sure that you give the people more time and more respect.”

Online commenter Christine Igisomar said, “I believe choosing these largely uninhabited islands is testing the waters…[thereby] allowing this process, if successful, to reach other places that are inhabited by native Pacific Islanders such as myself.”

Frances Sablan said, “There are extreme comments as to the process and everything that is happening but, as a retired educator, as an ocean elder, I am appreciative of the process. Yes, the timing is short and sometimes it is improv, but it is a process. It is being done. And all we need to do now is make the best of it.”

“I deeply appreciate all of you for taking the time, I think it’s been a real wake up call, going to Guam and then coming here. …We’re going to take this home, we are going to process it, and think about what we can do next,” said Brady Phillips, NOAA (Pacific Region) Protected Area Policy Division policy specialist, before concluding the meeting.

The hearing on Saipan is the fourth of seven scoping meetings in the U.S.-Pacific Islands hosted by NOAA, with meetings on Rota and Tinian taking place last weekend. After a public commentary stage, which began on April 18, 2023, and ending on June 2, 2023, NOAA will continue to hold online and in-person public meetings before moving on to the next stages in the process, where a draft sanctuary proposal will be composed, before making a final draft that will be sent to the state and Congress for review and final designation.

To submit a comment online go to regulations.gov and use docket number NOAA-NOS-2023-0052. Deadline for comments is June 2, 2023.