CRMO meets with NMI’s marine sports operators

By JOHN DAX MORENO
Special to the Saipan Tribune

Coastal Resources Management Office director Dr. John B. Joyner expressed his confidence that marine sports operators are concerned about the health of the marine environment while operating their businesses properly and profitably.

Last Thursday, Feb. 9, 2006, Joyner, along with CRMO enforcement and permitting personnel, met with Saipan’s marine sports operators in an introductory meeting for the agency’s newly appointed director.

Currently, there are about 100 marine sports businesses that operate jet skis, banana boats, parasailing, SCUBA diving, other motorized and non-motorized sports. About 25 people were in attendance.

After a brief introduction, Joyner told the audience that he doesn’t have an agenda for the marine sports business, and that the meeting was being conducted so that the operators could voice their needs, problems, goals, and how CRMO can best help them.

He also said that the agency’s goal is to be “business friendly,” and to steer away from being motivated by the notion of “catching [the operators] doing what’s wrong.” Instead, the agency could be proactive in commending and acknowledging them when they are “doing right.”

Joyner expressed that CRMO strives to deal with all operators equally and fairly working together to continue to find opportunities and help sustain the industry.

One of the main concerns addressed in the meeting was the recent lifting of the moratoria on new marine sports businesses. A number from the audience expressed that they are worried about the competition with “big businesses” such as hotels that may have an advantage over smaller operations in securing customers. Smaller locally owned operations might have a difficult time competing with outside investors, according to a member of the audience. Another operator stated that she believes that, with the current state of the economy and low tourist numbers, there are enough marine sports operations. It was suggested during the discussion that operators could potentially partner up with the hotels.

Other topics discussed in the meeting included the availability of access roads, corridors between swimming areas, fixing Sugar Dock, informational booths in hotels, availability of bathrooms, and drainages near marine sports operations. These concerns, according to CRMO staff, could best be addressed with the help and collaboration of other government agencies and certain members of the public sector. The staff told the audience that they would look into the individual concerns expressed and would address them accordingly.

Moorings at Mañagaha were also discussed, whether or not they are available to the public or exclusively for the business operators. One operator informed the audience that the moorings there were installed privately by the operators but could be shared with the public as long as they ask for permission. Moorings allow boaters to tie up their boats and avoid possibly anchoring on corals. CRMO staff said they would look into the availability of installing other moorings on the island.

There are plans to develop a regular meeting time between marine sports operators and CRMO.

“It would be ideal to have quarterly meetings to promote and maintain good working relations between CRMO and the marine sports operators,” according to Zerlyn Alcazar, CRMO Chief Enforcement Officer. These meetings would help assure that CNMI’s coastal resources are protected, and the marine sports operations are running properly and profitably.

(John Dax Moreno is the CRMO Outreach and Education Coordinator.)