Thar she blows

No this letter is not about the catastrophic demise of CUC’s Lower Base generators. This is about a different catastrophe. Last year I had the great fortune to see from my second story house on the hill in As Matuis, two whales just outside the reef off of Paupau Beach. The whales were too far away to identify and did not stay long but I will remember the sight for a very long time. Seeing whales in the seas around the CNMI is unusual. But it has not always been that way. Prior to the mid 1800s sperm whales in the hundreds or thousands populated this area. Then came the commercial whalers. The CNMI became a stopover for replenishing ships’ water, firewood, and other necessary provisions. For 20-30 years there were 30 or more whaling ships a year stopping in the Marianas. Now those whalers are long gone. They killed all the whales. Now they want all your fish, or rather they want what was left over from the Japanese and Russian trawlers that plundered the CNMI fisheries in the 1950s and ’60s.

Now is the time to start protecting the CNMI fisheries. The proposed National Marine Monument is a good start. When is the last time you went up to the northern islands and brought home a boat load offish for your family? Never? So why let a commercial fishing factory clean out whatever fish are left in the northern islands?

A recent letter (Tribune 8/29/08) from WESPAC’s unofficial lobbyist cries “Betrayal.” Hardly, he is correct in that neither the PEW (which is the founders name and not an acronym for something) Foundation nor the local supporters will proceed with the proposed marine monument against the will of the people. What he does not say is that over 60 percent of the letters submitted to the media in opposition to the monument proposal have been submitted by the lobbyist himself or other WESPAC officials. In addition, he is correct that other letters (the other 30 percent or so) have been submitted by government officials against the proposed monument. What is not stated is that none of those government officials held any public forums to hear the public’s opinions. They did not ask me…did they ask you? They decided what is bad for us. They decided that our opinions and our children’s future do not matter. Remember that the next election. So if one looks at the whole picture and discards WESPAC and select government opposition, there is no real controversy to the monument. Most people I have talked to are in favor of protecting the northern islands from exploitation. The others just want more info before saying yea or nay.

The choice for or against a marine monument should be left up to the people of the CNMI. It should not come by executive decree from the governor. It should not be the result of misinformation and rhetoric from WESPAC’s unofficial lobbyist. The choice should be the result of careful thought and concern for the future of the Chamorro people and their children. I think we should name our monument, “The Chamorro Nation’s National Marine Monument” (or for short, CNNMM, or ChamMon or some other appropriate acronym). Then the Chamorro people, their culture, their history, and their priceless gift to the world will never be forgotten.