If you haven't noticed, there has been a flurry of recent activity in Hawai'i on the topic of sustainability. While we can all agree that it is important to develop new policies and programs that protect and enhance our environment while sustaining and diversifying our economy and strengthening our sense of community, it has been difficult to translate theory into practice and to implement meaningful change in the name of sustainability.

This past summer, however, President Bush declared the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands to be a Marine National Monument. This designation is an example of a policy meeting the so-called "triple bottom line" of sustainable development by being good for our environment, economy and community.

Located northwest of Kaua'i, the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands archipelago consists of a complex of islands, atolls and sea mounts which stretch across some 1,400 miles, or about the distance from Chicago to Miami. The monument will be the largest marine protected area in the world, even surpassing the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park in Australia.

The area contains approximately 70 percent of our nation's shallow water tropical reefs, which support a diverse and valuable ecosystem. There are many different marine mammals, birds, sea turtles, fish and invertebrate in the area. Approximately one-quarter of the 7,000 recorded species in the NWHI are found nowhere else in the world.

It also is one of the few remaining areas where there is an abundance of large marine predators. There are some 14 million sea birds, and the region is also home to the endangered Hawaiian monk seal and the threatened green sea turtle.

WIN FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

The creation of a marine monument means that this area will be protected for future generations. It prohibits unauthorized access to the area. It bans dumping and resource exploitation such as sand mining and coral reef extraction.

The monument includes a five-year phase-out on commercial fishing, while serving to promote other types of carefully regulated educational and scientific activities. The national monument also will serve to preserve access for Native Hawai'i cultural activities. Enhanced visitation and tourism activities will occur in specially designated areas around Midway Island.

There are, no doubt, untold environmental benefits to be realized from the preservation of species and the protection of this area. A recent study by the Ocean Conservancy found that fishing tends to remove the largest and most productive individuals from a population. In addition to decreasing the reproductive capacity of the fish population, fishing can also alter the genetic makeup of the fish stock which could affect their long-term resiliency.

With the NWHI Marine National Monument, there is an opportunity to advance the science of conservation marine biology by creating a truly pristine environment, one in which the complex interactions between various marine species will be protected.

A WIN FOR THE ECONOMY

The last remaining fishery in the NWHI is the commercial bottomfish fishery, which will be phased out in five years. Given the rising costs of fuel and labor, the extraordinary distances needed to reach these fisheries, and the associated time and effort needed to fish these waters, the promise of a "buyout" of these permits represents a balance between the interests of the fishers and the conservation of a unique resource.

Makena Coffman, an economic research analyst focusing on environment and development issues specific to Hawai'i, and I recently completed an analysis in which we examined the market for NWHI bottomfish. It comprises a tiny share of the overall commercial fishing industry in Hawai'i.

The total size of Hawai'i's economy is approximately $58 billion. The commercial fishing industry in Hawai'i contributes approximately $69.7 million to the state's economy. Approximately $1.14 million in economic output can be attributed to the NWHI bottomfishing. Based on these values, the NWHI bottomfish fishery amounts to about 0.001 percent of the state's economy.

Other commercial fishing, about 60 times larger than the NWHI fishery, is still only about 0.062 percent of the state's economy.

The major annual purchasers of NWHI bottomfish are eating and drinking establishments ($332,470), hotels ($67,420), hospitals ($2,530), food stores ($1,990) and other retail operations ($1,430).

Purchases of other commercially-caught fish are significant. For example, restaurants purchase about $20 million of other commercially caught fish compared to the $322,470 worth of NWHI bottomfish.

Since the demand for bottomfish is so heavily dominated by eating and drinking establishments, most consumption of NWHI bottomfish is through restaurant meals. It is important to note that the overall restaurant industry amounts to $2.2 billion annually. The value of the restaurant industry overall in Hawai'i is 33 times larger than commercial fishing and almost 2,000 times larger than the NWHI bottomfish fishery.

There are an estimated 36 part-time jobs associated with the NWHI bottomfishing vessels. The estimated payroll amounts to $192,100 annually while the combined income (after expenses) to the vessel owners is estimated to be approximately $140,000.

After adding in various costs and depreciation, it is clear that there is not a lot of money being made in this business, although some fishers clearly get great satisfaction from this work.

When we modeled wholesale monthly price data over a 10-year period for the five main types of bottomfish sold in Hawai'i, we found very little price fluctuation, controlling for seasonality. We estimated effects of closing the bottomfish fishery in the NWHI.

This would increase the wholesale price of onaga by 84 cents per pound. Wholesale prices for 'opakapaka would rise by 60 cents per pound. The price increase for 'ehu is 40 cents, uku is 11 cents and hapu'upu'u is 60 cents. These are worst-case scenario effects assuming zero substitutability with other bottomfish or other types of fish.

We also conducted interviews with restaurants, wholesalers, retailers, and suppliers. We found that the supply of NWHI bottomfish is highly irregular. Sometimes it's available, but many times it's not or only certain species are caught.

Sometimes there is a glut of fish available (which serves to keep prices low) and other times it is difficult to find fresh bottomfish. Suppliers have to import bottomfish from other places (Fiji, Tonga, South America, and other regions). It's widely available from places outside Hawai'i.

We also found evidence that the quality of NWHI bottomfish tends not to be as high as bottomfish caught in Hawaiian waters or shipped via air express from other locations. It is evident that commercial bottomfishing in the NWHI is not an economically sustainable activity.

The economic impacts of closing the NWHI bottomfish fishery are small. The benefits of more lucrative activities (tourism, scientific research, education, and cultural development) that accompany the monument designation could far outweigh commercial fishing. We need to begin exploring these other economic opportunities and work together to ensure a smooth transition from fishing to other more sustainable economic activities in the region.

A WIN FOR COMMUNITY

To some observers, the creation of the national monument by the same president who refused to sign the Kyoto protocol, came as somewhat of a surprise. Yet unlike Kyoto, the NWHI National Marine Monument was more widely supported — not just by our federal government, but also by our governor, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, many environmental groups and by Hawaiian leaders. It is an issue which crosses party lines and serves to bring our community together.

The issues of ocean and coastal management touch all of us, especially in Hawai'i. Protection of the marine environment is an issue not just for those living near the ocean, but for the world over. As a result of this designation, there may be an increase in the abundance, diversity, biomass and size of various species, which may also lead to an increase in fish in adjacent areas.

Even more important is the challenge of moving from a fisheries and resource-extraction perspective to one that it is more oriented toward stewardship, environmental protection, and ecosystems management.

While some might prefer to "keep things as they are," it is also apparent that many people in our community are looking for real ways to reform our relationship with the environment. It's why there is such strong interest in sustainability and holistic approaches to resource management.

The NWHI Marine National Monument gives us an opportunity to plan, protect, manage and develop a vast natural area from a really different multi-stakeholder community perspective. There is a real opportunity to integrate the latest scientific thinking with culturally appropriate practices. We can develop real indicators to monitor conditions in the NWHI and compare them to other places that aren't protected.

This can only help to deepen our knowledge of how best to protect our resources for future generations. We need to ensure engaged participation and continue building on the positive steps towards sustainability.

In addition to moving forward with a coherent plan that will result in a monument as cherished as the Grand Canyon, we also need to learn from the experiences of other national monuments so our precious ocean resources are protected into perpetuity.

Perhaps some of the lessons learned will be transferable to other parts of Hawai'i and the rest of the world.

Karl Kim is professor and chair of urban & regional planning at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. He wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.