Senate OKs historic submerged land lease deal with Sea Touch

The Senate unanimously approved Friday the historic submerged land lease agreement between Sea Touch Saipan LLC and the Department of Land and Natural Resources, paving the way for the $1.125-million shark and stingray marine park project at the beachfront of Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan.

The bill, House Bill 18-198, HS1, now heads to Gov. Eloy S. Inos’ desk and if he signs it into law, it will mark the first time the islands would be profiting from its submerged lands, 10 months after President Barrack Obama signed Public Law 113-34 that gave the CNMI control of the underwater coasts of its islands.

Baldyga Group special projects director Troy Williams said, “We are extremely excited and ready to start building the operation,” when told via email that the Senate affirmed the submerged land lease with DLNR.

House Speaker Joseph P. Deleon Guerrero (Ind-Saipan) said he is very pleased and also relieved that the project is now only a step from being realized, despite all the lobbying efforts against it.

“Anybody who attended the public hearings and heard the arguments for and against it would agree that the benefits outweigh the concerns, which to me are really non-existent. [It’s] not based on science. …I’m a fisherman and I don’t agree with what was proclaimed…and I fished in that area,” he told reporters after the Senate session Friday.

The lawmaker said the $1.125-million shark and stingray marine park project would help the CNMI distinguish itself from tourist hotspots like Guam and Palau.

“I think it will go a long way in helping our destination’s enhancement efforts. This is one thing that can distinguish us from other islands. This has a potential, through word of mouth, of marketing this area even more. Best marketing is always word of mouth and we can’t even quantify what that is worth.”

One of the foremost proponents of the project, Diego Benavente, was also all smiles after the Senate passed Sea Touch’s submerged land lease deal with DLNR.

“I’m very happy, of course. This is something I’ve been helping with a good three or four months now. It’s long overdue and it’s something important for our tourism industry and I’m just so glad that the Senate acted quickly on it,” said the former lieutenant governor and House speaker.

Rep. Ramon Tebuteb (Ind-Saipan) once again testified in Friday’s session, reiterating his position that the area behind Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan are traditional fishing grounds.

He said he and over 100 people who signed the petition are not opposed to Sea Touch’s construction of temporary pens for sharks and stingrays; they just want the company to move it a little north to where Hyatt Regency Saipan’s waterfront is located.

Deleon Guerrero once again came to the defense of his bill and of Sea Touch’s project.

“He has a petition and I don’t know if all of them are fishermen. It may just be people who signed the petition to support it, I guess. Realistically, you ask around who fish there and what kind of fish do they catch. I only fish the small fish there and it’s only seasonal.”

In an earlier interview, Tebuteb showed Saipan Tribune a special permit granted by the Division of Fish & Wildlife to a group of fishermen who conducted a spearfishing competition allegedly in the area of contention.

In a Sept. 5, 2014, fishing data sheet submitted by the group to the division, it listed that it caught “71.3 lbs” of assorted fish in the disputed waters off Fiesta Resort.

Williams, during an earlier Senate hearing, said moving the project to the shallower part on Hyatt will be a deal-breaker, while moving it further out to sea will “kill” the concessionaires that use the channel for their activities.